


Heart Of Glass

by robindrake93



Category: Supernatural Investigations - B.B. Alston
Genre: Amari and the Night Brothers, Amari and the Night Brothers Spoilers, Book 1: Amari and the Night Brothers, Canon Compliant, Canon Rewrite, F/M, Implied/Referenced Underage Drinking, Magic, One-Sided Amari Peters/Dylan Van Helsing, POV Third Person, Pining, Possibly Unrequited Love, Soulmates, Spoilers
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-03-15
Updated: 2021-03-19
Packaged: 2021-03-23 13:14:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 29,291
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/30056007
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/robindrake93/pseuds/robindrake93
Summary: Dylan Van Helsing has always hidden who and what he is but when Amari Peters walks into his life, Dylan feels like he can really be himself for the first time in his life. He knows that they're meant to be together and that they'll be able to bring the others out of hiding. Now it's just a matter of convincing Amari.(SPOILERS! SPOILERS! SO MANY SPOILERS!)
Relationships: Amari Peters/Dylan Van Helsing
Kudos: 1





	1. She Turned Me To Gold

**Author's Note:**

> If you somehow missed it the first two times, **SPOILERS. THERE ARE SPOILERS FOR AMARI AND THE NIGHT BROTHERS AHEAD.**
> 
> I just wanted to write something short from Dylan's point of view because it seemed like he had stronger feelings for Amari than she did for him. But there were so many good scenes and I couldn't help but wonder what was going through Dylan's head the whole time so. I. Rewrote the entire book from Dylan's POV. _Amari's dialogue and the dialogue from everyone speaking **to** Amari is all word-for-word from the book._ I didn't want to change it because this is, well, what Amari hears when Dylan is around so it stood to reason that Dylan would hear it too. 
> 
> So without further ado, enjoy the first and only dylamari fic. 
> 
> To change the font color to default colors, click "Hide Creator's Style" at the top. 
> 
> Don't reupload/repost my fics.

The bottoms of Dylan’s feet were sweating as he returned to his seat in the front row of the auditorium. He was glad that he wasn’t a palm sweater, otherwise his fear would have been obvious to Chief Crowe when they shook hands; or worse, a pit sweater whose fear would have been obvious to everyone. And it wouldn’t do for a Van Helsing to be visibly nervous. But his badge ceremony had gone without a hitch and now Dylan felt a cool rush of relief that it was over. 

Amari Peters was the next one called, the girl to receive the Moonstone badge. She didn’t look like much, kinda cute, and she wasn’t a legacy. 

Dylan didn’t see her supposedly unlimited potential. He didn’t see what was so special about her. 

Then Amari touched the Crystal Ball. 

And every drop of magical blood within Dylan _sang_.  
  
  
  


Dylan’s hands were still shaking hours later when it was time for the social. His bones vibrated, his whole body buzzed with the residual memory of Amari’s magic. The suit he pulled from his closet shimmered and sparkled with diamond dust. It was difficult to say exactly what color it was, because the color kept shifting. Dylan put it on and studied at himself in the mirror. 

The suit made him look extraordinarily tan, which wasn’t a bad thing, but it also made his blond hair look a tacky yellow rather than golden. Dylan frowned and glanced through the mirror at his sister. 

Lara stood on the opposite side of the room in her own diamond dust outfit. She sparkled and glowed. The dress fell to her ankles and clung to curves that, at thirteen, she didn’t really have yet. Lara was in the middle of putting dangling diamond earrings in. 

Why did she look so good in diamonds and he didn’t? They were identical twins; if Lara looked good in diamonds, they should _both_ look good in diamonds. 

Maybe it was the earrings. Dylan opened a jewelry box on his vanity. Inside was one diamond stud and one silver snake cuff. He put the stud in first, since that was easiest. Then he carefully took the snake cuff and unclasped the tail. A small peg was revealed; this was the part that went through his hole and then the tail reconnected. The whole ear cuff rested with the snake’s tail seemingly going through Dylan’s earlobe, while the body curled around the shell of his ear and the head came around the front, making it look like the snake was whispering secrets into Dylan’s ear. 

When they were ready, the twins left their apartment with their father. He was chaperoning tonight; which seemed to be a thin excuse to spy on Amari. Van Helsings - and the Bureau - _never_ trusted magicians. 

The twins and their father split off from each other once they reached the Special Events floor and were ushered through golden ballroom doors. 

This year's theme was Winter Wonderland. Perfect snowflakes fell delicately from the ceiling, which looked like a sky. Snow covered fir trees grew right up through the floor. The room smelled of pine and cold and warm food. Set sporadically around the room were massive ice sculptures of dancing penguins and grinning polar bears. 

It was all an unnecessarily complicated and convoluted setup. The snow was real. The trees were real. But several someones behind the scenes were struggling to make it all happen; to encourage the trees to grow, to make the snow disappear before it hit the ground, to make the wind swirl kids around on the dance floor, to painstakingly carve the ice sculptures. 

Dylan could have done all of this and more without breaking a sweat. He could give them a winter wonderland more beautiful and exciting than anything they’ve ever seen or ever will see. He could even make the ice sculptures dance and move for real. But they would never let him because they hated magicians even as they mimicked what illusionists could do. The Bureau were hypocrites. It made Dylan sick. 

Dylan went to find a table. 

Lara went to find her friends. 

Dylan selected a table where he would have a good view of the doors, the buffet table, and the dance floor. Then he sat down and waited for the social to be over. With a flick of his finger, he painted an illusion over his face - just a small one - so that none of his feelings showed through. The others - his sister included - expected Dylan to be emotionless, cool, and aloof. 

Would Amari be there? Of course she would. Why wouldn’t she be? Her older brother, Quinton, loved people and made a positive impression on everyone who met him. Was Amari like that too? Even if she wasn’t...she had to have felt what Dylan did. His magic must have sung to her too. 

Amari would come. 

Slowly, the other legacies deemed worthy enough to be seen with the Van Helsings began making their way to Dylan’s table. Dylan knew them all by name. 

Kirsten Kurt wore a dress that looked like a patch of the starry night sky had been stylishly draped over her. 

Brian Li was dressed in a golden suit that was just this side of being too hard on the eyes. It looked like it was made of liquid gold. 

Billy Pogo had on a suit that looked like a piece of the blue sky was tailored to fit him. It would only be a matter of time before he began wearing golden fleece. 

Dylan let their conversation flow over and around him, uninterested in what they had to say. He sat and waited in pensive silence, debating with himself how to get Amari’s attention. It would have to be in a way that wouldn’t also attract Lara’s attention. His twin cared far too much about the Van Helsing name. 

Then Dylan felt it; a tingling in his fingertips. She was here. He threw his gaze around the ballroom, hunting for a glimpse of Amari. 

He spotted her, standing beside the buffet table. 

The white dress Amari wore looked like clouds gathered around her and styled into something stylish. The clouds looked real, as though someone took them from the sky just for her. The stark whiteness contrasted beautifully against her dark brown skin. She was beautiful. Absolutely beautiful. 

And maybe it was because seeing Amari filled Dylan with a swooping lightness, but Dylan privately thought that she looked even better than Lara did. Then again, he reflected, you could put Amari in anything and she would make it beautiful. 

She wasn’t alone. Lara was with her. That wasn’t good. Dylan at once hoped that Lara would leave Amari alone and bring Amari over to talk. Dylan very much wanted to talk to Amari. 

When they began making their way to Dylan’s table, Dylan’s heart began pounding. 

Lara had a familiar look on her face. She was going to bring the competition down a few pegs. 

As if on cue, one of the boys stood up. “You can have my seat.” 

Dylan caught Amari’s eye. He crossed his arms and mouthed “Don’t” to her. 

Before Amari can choose one way or another to listen to Dylan, Lara practically shoves her into the seat. 

Dylan sighed and shook his head. This was not going to go well for Amari. And surely whatever nonsense these idiots got up to, it would impede Dylan’s chances with her. If it wasn’t for the glamour keeping his expression neutral, everyone would see the way he was glaring at Lara. Amari was so important and Lara was going to ruin everything like always. 

“They’re really letting you stay on after cracking the Crystal Ball?” Kirsten asked. She could barely keep the disdain out of her voice. “I’m Kirsten Kurst, by the way.” She added, as though it should be obvious who she was. 

“I didn’t actually crack it,” Amari said quickly. She looked so nervous. A little sheep in the face of the wolves. But what was beneath that sheep skin? Could she feel Dylan’s magic calling to her like hers did to him? “It was an illusion.” Amari seemed to regain some confidence because she shrugged nonchalantly. “An accident.” 

Dylan couldn’t stop his eyes from going wide, even projected it onto the illusion masking his face. She was an illusionist? The Crystal Ball cracking was an illusion? That she made by _accident?_ He could barely contain his excitement. 

Brian leaned toward Amari. “And they _know_ you’re a magician? I heard all the worst magicians were illusionists.” He said this callously, with as much disdain as everyone else held. They all hated magicians. 

Dylan knew it but he ached for Amari. As the conversation continued, it became very obvious that she was out of her depth. She didn’t know anything about the supernatural world. Or how to navigate a conversation with those who _did_. But those things were easily fixed, barely worth noting. He stayed out of the conversation, not meeting Amari’s eyes as they ragged on her. How would she take it, Dylan wondered. Was she cut out for this world? 

Lara finally made her way around the table to sit next to Dylan. She sat down elegantly, posture perfect as their father taught them. A diamond bracelet glittered around her wrist. “The Van Helsings founded the Bureau,” Lara added snootily. 

“Merits are basically what the Bureau does to fill any leftover seats once the legacy nominations have all been sent out,” Kirsten said. 

“Well,” Lara said, voice becoming even more snooty and posh. “I don’t mind as long as they know their place.” The trap she laid for Amari was so obvious that everyone at the table saw it...except, of course, for Amari. 

Amari’s eyes narrowed. “What’s that supposed to mean?” Her voice had dropped dangerously low. Apparently she knew this game too. It made Dylan wonder what the life of a poor person was like, if they could play the games of the rich. 

From there, things escalated. Lara was cruel and merciless. It wasn’t just Amari being a magician; Lara was like this with everyone below the bronze badge. As well as with all of the merits. Lara leaned across the table, a glower on her face that doesn’t take away from her beauty. She was practically growling; daddy’s little monster. “Face it, fancy badge or not, you don’t even have a supernatural ability. Not a real one.” 

The other kids laughed one cue. Most of them probably agreed with Lara, though some of them were doing it just to fit in. They knew their positions are precarious. 

“I do,” Amari said, voice sounding unsure. Her brown eyes were huge, looking around the table for some sort of help. They kept landing on Dylan. 

Dylan kept his gaze averted, though he was watching her from the corner of his eye. What would she do? Would she bend or break beneath the pressure? As Amari’s distress grew, her magical blood metaphorically boiled. Dylan felt a quickening in his own blood. 

“Then show us,” Lara taunted. 

Amari sat still. Nothing happened. 

Lara poked out her bottom lip mockingly. “How tragic,” she purred. 

Amari stood up so suddenly that her chair fell over backward. “Leave me alone!” She was visibly shaking. The white clouds of her dress turned gray and then lightning flashed across them. 

Dylan felt himself quivering as well. He twitched his fingers, painted an illusion of calm over his entire body so that no one saw it. 

“Or what? You and your disgusting magician friends will sic your nasty hybrids on me? You shouldn’t even be here!” Lara became angrier and angrier with every word. Her temper flared and she was almost standing in her seat, matching Amari’s stance. 

Dylan felt a surge of magical energy flowing from himself to Amari seconds before the table caught fire. Brilliant orange flames swept up in an arc that rose above everyone’s heads. Dylan’s breath caught. He stared at Amari through the flames. So she _would_ fight back. She was perfect. His whole body thrummed with magical energy, boosting Amari’s magic. Dylan could hear the flames crackling and popping, and could feel the heat of them. She really was a powerful illusionist. 

“Disgusting magician,” Lara spat, loathing in her voice. 

For once Dylan didn’t hear it. He only had eyes for Amari Peters. Then Amari was pulled away and the spell on Dylan was broken. He glanced at his twin. He would need to do damage control right now, before Lara had a chance to spin this into something it wasn’t. He rose from his seat and slipped away without anyone noticing. The others were too busy chattering about how scary the magician girl was. 

Dylan found his father with the other chaperones and pulled him aside. He explained in detail exactly what happened. He did not mention how his magic had boosted Amari’s or how he felt so light and warm that it was like the time he’d gotten into the wine last Christmas. 

“Bring her here,” father said. He didn’t look happy, though he rarely ever did. 

Dylan went to collect Amari. He found her so easily. Her magic still called to him. She was with the weredragon girl, about to go onto the whirlwind dance floor. Dylan put a hand on Amari’s bare shoulder. Her skin was warm. He thought he was going to faint. The blood rushed to color his face red but even she wouldn’t be able to see through his illusions. 

Amari shrugged Dylan’s hand off. She twisted around to scowl at him, lip raised in a snarl. “Can’t you guys take a hint?” Despite the fire she’d made and the magical bond between them, there was no warmth in her voice at all. 

Dylan backed off immediately, raising both hands in surrender. “Not me. My father wants to talk with you.” 

“What does your dad want?” Amari asked as she followed Dylan across the ballroom. They wove through trees and ice sculptures, taking their time going to where the chaperones were gathered. 

Dylan shrugged. “No clue,” he lied. He wanted to take her hand and lace their fingers together...but he thought that she might punch him if he tried it. Besides, they didn’t know each other very well. Even though they were made for each other. 

“Well, can you at least tell me if you know anything about what happened my brother...and your sister?” Amari asked. Amari reached out to touch the branches on one of the snow-covered fir trees. She didn’t seem to realize she was doing it. 

“My dad said that he’d let us know as soon as they learned something,” Dylan grumbled. Thinking about Maria made Dylan’s stomach burn, like he’d swallowed a hot coal. She was his older sister and a magician but she was _nothing_ like him. He had plans. Maria was a coward. “That was six months ago.” 

Amari shook her head, clearly unhappy with this news. 

Dylan stopped. He cocked his head, studying her. “But...I’ve done my own snooping around and managed to find out a few things on my own.” 

“Tell me.” It was an order. 

The glamour hid Dylan’s smile and instead presented Amari with a questioning look. “Why should I?” 

“Because it’s not just your sister that’s missing. It’s my brother too. You should understand how I feel. _Please._ ” Amari gazed up into his eyes with her beautiful black ones. She was so earnest, her intentions written clearly in her face. 

Dylan wished that he loved Maria as much as Amari loved Quinton. He frowned as he wondered why Amari was so attached. Was it because she didn’t know very much about the persecution of magicians? Or was Quinton a magician too? Dylan hadn’t been here when Quinton touched the Crystal Ball...and Maria was so fond of him. “ _Fine_.” Dylan agreed. “But over there.” He pointed to an empty section of the ballroom. 

Amari rushed over to the empty spot Dylan indicated. She was fierce and loyal. 

Dylan could get behind that. He wondered what it would be like to have that love turned on him. The very idea made him blush all the way up to the roots of his hair. Dylan stood close to her, towering over Amari by a good six inches. When he was sure that no one would overhear, Dylan began to speak in a low voice. 

His information wasn’t gathered by spying on the Bureau. No, he worked for the opposition; the ones who _took_ VanQuish. But Dylan was smart and he gave Amari just enough to leave her wanting more. Finally, after extracting a promise from Amari that she won’t say anything to anyone about this, Dylan nodded and said, “C’mon. My dad is over with the other chaperones.” 

“Hey, wait a sec. So, um, Elsie and I are doing our own investigating too. Maybe we could all work together?” Amari asked, though it was less a question and more notifying Dylan that anything he said to her would be passed back to Elsie. The weredragon girl. 

Dylan shrugged. “Maybe.” Then he turned and headed over to his father. He could work around the weredragon, right? Dylan would have to tread _very_ carefully.  
  
  
  


_Magiciangirl18: Keep your head up, Amari Peters. You aren’t alone._


	2. My Heart Was A Stone

If Dylan didn’t know that his father and twin weren’t magicians, he would wonder if somehow Amari’s magic sang to them too. They simply did not stop talking - ranting, venting, raging - about her. Dylan didn’t contribute to the conversations one way or another, but he couldn’t get Amari out of his mind; so it sort of felt like everyone around him was obsessed. It had only been a couple of days but Dylan had to admit that he felt very obsessed. He didn’t know what else to call the intense feeling of longing that washed over him when he thought of Amari. 

The only one in his family not talking about Amari was his mother, and that was only because her husband and daughter wouldn’t shut up except to let each other fume over Amari’s very existence. Still, despite her silence, Dylan knew that his mother felt about Amari much the same way that the other two Van Helsings did. She didn’t like magicians either. 

Father pointed two fingers in Dylan and Lara’s direction. “I do not want either of you to so much as speak to Amari Peters. You stay well away from that _magician._ ” Father practically spit the word out, like it tasted vile in his mouth. One of his fingers went down so that he was only pointing at Dylan. His eyes narrowed. “Especially you.” 

“Yes, Daddy,” Lara said like the good little girl she was. 

Dylan only nodded.  
  
  
  


The first day of Tryouts, Dylan was once again buzzing with excitement at the prospect of seeing Amari again, of being close to her. He hoped she would use her magic. _Their_ magic. 

The group waited in the lobby of Supernatural Investigations. It was a grayscale, black and white room. A white statue of Abraham Van Helsing stabbing Vladimir through the heart with a stake was prominent between two black pillars. Dylan did his best not to look at it. He’s heard the story so often and read about it, that he can practically picture it happening as if he’d been there. 

Amari stepped off the elevator wearing the gray suit that marked her as a Department of Supernatural Investigations trainee. She looked great. Except her moonstone badge was...missing? Did someone steal it? 

“It’s not too late to turn back,” Lara taunted in a singsong voice. She smirked at Amari. “See that statue? That’s how the Bureau feels about magicians.” 

The other legacies laughed. 

Dylan did not. 

That statue was an unfriendly reminder to both Dylan and Amari that they weren’t welcome here. Amari was out but Dylan was so far into the metaphorical magical closet that his own twin sister didn’t even know. Maria knew...but she had recognized the spark of magic in him. 

Amari ignored them, walking past with her chin high, finding a spot as far away as possible. 

Dylan resisted the urge to touch her again, to brush his fingertips against the back of her hand. Lara wouldn’t let him live it down. And Amari didn’t seem to like him very much. 

After a few minutes, there was a loud click and a section of the back wall slid away. This wasn’t Dylan’s first time in the Bureau so he wasn’t surprised to see it. Agent Fiona stepped into view. Her blazing red hair hung around her head like a mane. 

“The Red Lady,” Kirsten murmured. 

Agent Fiona’s sharp blue eyes scanned the room, sizing them all up. Dylan knew what to expect, so it wasn’t a surprise when she began talking big to the trainees, testing them. It also wasn’t a surprise when she chose Lara and Amari to pick on. Agent Fiona’s gaze softened slightly, then she pulled Amari’s moon badge from inside her suit lapel and pinned it so that it shone brightly, visible to all. 

Dylan wasn’t quite sure what to make of it. Was Amari hiding her badge because she...what was it she’d said? Didn’t want the attention? He listened as Agent Fiona went on to explain how the trainees were going to be chosen to become junior agents. No one particularly liked what Agent Fiona had to say; they didn’t want to be sent home. Then Dylan asked, “I know there were eight spots last year. How many spots are available this time?” 

Agent Fiona frowned. “We had a few older agents who were set to retire but decided to putter on for another year. Means we can only offer four spots this summer.” 

Four? Dylan felt as though the floor was falling out beneath his feet. _Four?_ Not only would Dylan have to beat twenty-eight other kids...but so would Amari. He tried not to let it get him down. Amari would do fine. She would make junior agent, just like Dylan would. Maybe they would even be partners. The idea made his stomach flutter. 

They could be VanQuish 2.0; magician style. It was common knowledge that agent partners were usually, well, _partners_ in all aspects of life. Maria and Quinton had been dating before they went missing. Agent Fiona and Agent Magnus were dating. It was normal, even expected, for workplace romances to happen. 

Agent Fiona handed out the Junior Agent Trainee Summer Camp Schedule. Dylan looked it over and was unsurprised to find that each week, they would be cutting the number of trainees by half. Competition would be rough. But Dylan has been trained for this since he was an infant. “Now that you’ve had a moment to review your schedules, let’s get ye all separated into tour groups. When I call your name, come and stand beside me. Peters, ye stay put.” 

Dylan listened for his name to be called and was thrilled that he would be in Amari’s tour group. He stood beside her. 

Amari did not seem pleased to have him in her group. 

Dylan kind of got it; he hasn’t exactly been friendly to her and Lara was making him look bad. But couldn’t she feel it? Couldn’t Amari feel her magic responding to his, making her feel like she was floating and warm? 

Agent Fiona led her group of eight trainees through the doors she’d come through. She explained how to find their way around the department. 

A group of agents was bringing in a Bigfoot, who wasn’t making things easy for them. “I’m innocent. I swear! It was a Sasqutch! Not me!” He struggled and kicked, trying to break free all the while. They led him through a door at the opposite end of the hall. 

Agent Fiona followed them. A few seconds later, she poked her head out. “I’ve asked to take over so I can give ye a glimpse at what we do here.” The group of trainees lined up and kept quiet. 

A few minutes later, an angry little bearded man in a green suit was brought in. He was a leprechaun. 

“Is that a real leprechaun?” Amari blurted. As soon as the words left her mouth, she looked embarrassed. 

The leprechaun turned around. “Well, I ain’t a bloody fake, that’s for sure!” 

Dylan chuckled. “I asked the same question the first time I saw one. That leprechaun still sends me hate mail.” 

To Dylan’s absolute delight, Amari laughed. Just as quickly, she stopped and turned away from him, shoulders rising in tension. It was a clear sign that he’d messed up with her and she didn’t trust him. 

The delight Dylan felt at having made Amari laugh, died immediately. “Don’t be like that,” Dylan said, trying to keep the plea from his voice. “Who do you think vouched for you with my father? I told him how Lara and her dumb friends were teasing you.” 

Amari turned back to Dylan. “This isn’t a joke to me, okay? You can’t be mean to me one second and then nice the next. I don’t know if I can trust you. Or anything you told me.” The words sounded like they hurt her to admit, but Amari was firm. If he wanted to be friends with her, then Dylan would have to do better. 

Dylan didn’t answer. Anything he said right now would be insincere and he needed to think about his next move. As the group moved on, Dylan thought and thought about how he should proceed. Right now, Amari didn’t even know that Dylan was a magician. That was a hard pill to swallow, since he knew that everyone else knew that she was a magician...but she couldn’t sense any of them. It was frustrating. So was the secrecy. Dylan hated the secrecy that came with being a magician. He wanted to be able to live his life like everyone else, not hide his talents because other people were scared of them. And sure, he knew some spells that were real foul magic, but his favorite thing was painting illusions; which was fair magic. 

How could he be nice to her in front of his father? In front of Lara and her stupid friends? They were just spies for Director Van Helsing, their father. Mother and father were already worried about Dylan’s obsession with magic and magicians. They thought he was going through a phase...and they hoped that he would get over it soon. As if that would happen. 

The tour group came to the Operations Bay. It was a large, open room with three walls covered in video screens and long tables that held computers. The screen that everyone’s attention was drawn to was one that showed a smirking elderly man in a rocking chair. The world around him was completely black. It was labeled _Moreau Interrogation._

“Is that really _him_?” Billy asked with a shudder. “Is that really Moreau?” 

“It’s gotta be! Who else is that creepy?” Brian cried. He looked as horrified as Billy. 

A third voice, Kirsten, chimed in, “I just hope wherever he is, it’s far away from here.” 

Dylan resisted the urge to roll his eyes. They were so terrified of Moreau - or who they _thought_ was Moreau - that it was comical. Sure, they should be afraid of their betters, but it wasn’t his power level they were afraid of. They were afraid of his magic, of his status as a magician and even if the magic in his blood was eleven percent - one percent over the magic in their own blood - they would be afraid of him. “Far? Heck, he’s right here in this building.” Dylan didn’t mean to say it...and he couldn’t keep the disgust from his tone. 

Nearly the whole group gasped. 

“That’s not for ye to go around repeating,” Agent Fiona said tightly. She put her hands on her hips and her lips thinned. Her blue eyes were furious. 

Struck by sudden inspiration, Dylan nudged Amari. “Well, maybe if the Bureau were better at catching his apprentices, my sister wouldn’t still be missing.” 

If Agent Fiona was furious before, she was even angrier now. Her jaw clenched. “One more word from ye, little Van Helsing, and I’ll throw ye right outta these tryouts. I don’t care who your father is. Understood?” 

Dylan narrowed his eyes. He didn’t like being called _little Van Helsing_ or the threat to being Amari’s partner. He crossed his arms and said nothing. The risk of being separated from Amari was too great. He knew that his father wasn’t the end all, be all in the Bureau and that Agent Fiona was highly respected. She meant her threat. 

Beside him, Amari asked, “Has Moreau said anything at all about Quinton and Maria’s disappearance?” 

Something about Agent Fiona seemed to thaw when Amari asked. She sighed and shook her head. “These talks are nothin’ more than a formality. We question him once a week and he refuses to answer a single question - says the Bureau is the enemy of all magicians.” 

Well, he wasn’t wrong. 

“Could I talk to him?” Amari asked. 

Everyone, including Dylan, looked at her in surprise. Then Dylan realized what this meant. She was interested! She wanted to meet other magicians! Maybe Moreau - well, the man in the cell, anyway - would be able to convince Amari to join their side! 

“Maybe he’d be willing since I’m also a magician?” Amari continued. 

Yes, yes, yes! Dylan was beside himself with excitement. She wanted to talk to Moreau! She wanted to know about him! Maybe she would want to talk to Dylan, to know Dylan too. 

“Not a chance, Peters. You’re on shaky ground as it is. There’s no way the higher ups are gonna risk ye being corrupted by the single most dangerous being on the planet,” Agent Fiona said. 

“Who says I’d be -” 

Amari never got to finish that protest. The hallway darkened around them and red lights began flashing. The sudden wailing of a siren made several of the trainees jump in surprise. 

"Agent Fiona!” A junior agent, Tristan, shouted as he ran up the hallway to them. “There’s been an attack on one of our outposts! Thirty hybrids have overrun the place.” 

Dylan didn’t mind the alarm or the news of the thirty hybrids. Those things didn’t matter to him at all. He watched the way the red light reflected off of Amari’s tight black curls and the lines of her face. She was utterly beautiful and she wanted to know about magicians. Dylan thought he might be in love.  
  
  
  


The tour was cancelled for the day. It didn’t matter much to Dylan, as he’s already seen the Bureau inside and out. There was only one place he’s never been and, well, that would be changing soon. Instead, the trainees were sent to take a written exam on the subject of Supernatural Knowledge. 

When the exam was over, the trainees were called into the office at the back of the classroom to get their test results. Lara went first. Her face was scarlet when she got back, a look of fury and humiliation warping her features. “A measly eighty-three,” she told Dylan. “I told that ridiculous tutor we were focusing on the wrong things. When I see Daddy, I’m demanding a new one.” 

Dylan rolled his eyes. He knew that he’d done better than Lara, whether the tutor taught them the right things or not, because he’d cheated. And, well, the tutor wasn’t actually completely useless. Some of the things he’d known...some were still a mystery. As he leaned against the wall, waiting for his turn to receive his grade, Dylan mentally checked the grades of everyone in the class. This was his magic, his true magic. It was called techmagic because Dylan had control over anything technological; computers, phones, TVs, security systems. If it was an electronic, Dylan could access it. Some things took a while - like if they were complicated - but the instructor was browsing the grades anyway. Dylan just...looked at them. 

Amari went into the office next. 

Dylan knew that she’d failed. She got a four out of one hundred. It was a really bad score, but to be fair to her, Amari didn’t know anything about the supernatural world. She was going into it all blind. Dylan should do something about that.  
  
  
  


_Magiciangirl18: Bummer on failing the test. Wouldn’t you rather be learning the truth about magicians? About Moreau?_

_Amari_Peters: How do you know that? Are you here too? And what do you know about Moreau?_

_Magiciangirl18: First, you have to prove you can keep a secret. Don’t tell anyone about my offer and I’ll contact you when the time is right._  
  
  
  


Lara ranted and raved as she striped out of her suit, leaving her in her underwear. “I can’t believe how low my score was. That tutor was so useless. I’m so glad Daddy fired him.” She pulled her nightgown over her head; a silky blue number that fell to her knees. Lara slid her underwear off. “I heard that stupid little magician only scored a four.” 

Dylan hung his suit up in the closet, knowing it would be clean when he needed it tomorrow. He shimmied out of his underwear, leaving him naked. “Where did you hear that?” 

Lara smirked as she pulled on a clean pair of underwear the same color as her nightgown. “One of the Junior Agents told me.” She went to her vanity and sat down on the plush stool to brush her long blonde hair. 

Dylan stepped into his pajama pants; made of the same blue silk as Lara’s nightgown. It was annoying but everyone - including the closets - liked twins to match. “Which one?” He sat down at his vanity and began to wipe the eyeliner from his eyes. It was the only makeup he wore and he only wore enough to make his pale eyes pop. The one time that Dylan had tried to wear more than a thin line, his father threw a fit about having three daughters and smacked him so hard that Dylan’s teeth had rattled and he’d had the bruise on his face for a week. The earrings, Agent Van Helsing had said, were bad enough. 

“Tristan,” Lara answered. With every stroke of the brush, Lara’s hair grew shinier until it glistened like waves of gold. She eyed Dylan in the mirror, an expression on her face that said she was still waiting for an opportunity to blackmail Dylan for using makeup. 

Dylan rose from the vanity and made his way to his bed. He sat cross-legged, back straight, hands resting on his thighs. He closed his eyes and reached with his magic, connecting to the the Bureau of Supernatural Affairs’ mainframe. Dylan felt it like an extension of his body. 

“The whole mediating thing you do is freaky,” Lara’s voice cut in. 

Dylan’s brow furrowed in annoyance. Without opening his eyes, he said, “Do us both a favor and go to bed, Lara.” 

Lara huffed but Dylan heard the sounds of her climbing into bed and settling down. 

The truth was, they both needed the rest. But Dylan couldn’t sleep. He needed to get into the Bureau’s systems so that he could control everything from the lights to the elevators to their files and the locks on all of the doors. There was a lot to sort through. It would take days. Or nights, as the case may be, since Dylan didn’t have time to infiltrate during the day. 

Some systems were easy to get into. He could turn the lights on and off in any room, for instance, with ease. Dylan was learning to lock and unlock doors. That was harder, but not impossible. He thought that once he got the technique down, he’d be able to use all of the doors with ease. 

His ultimate goal was to get into the Great Vault. The lowest level security clearance to open the Vault was Senior Agent. Dylan just needed to pick one to lay the blame on when he finally opened the Great Vault. 

Dylan’s fingers twitched as he wove the threads of his tech magic into the Bureau’s security system. Keeping his hands still was another thing he’d had to teach himself. The more he interacted with the Bureau’s systems, the more they recognized and welcomed him. This was one of the many flaws that came with using magic; it was alive even when it was only a security system. You’d think they would have realized this considering how sentient the elevators were; a combination of tech and magic that had separate personalities and remembered things. 

Oh, well. All it meant was that as long as Dylan didn’t hurt the tech Bureau’s feelings, then he would always have access.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Dylan doesn't have earrings and wear makeup in canon...but I really can't get over the fact that his main disguise is...what it is. Coupled with...that...and the standards of being a Van Helsing and the added pressure of being a magician in hiding, I think that Dylan would definitely go for makeup and earrings even if it was only to rebel.


	3. Take It Slow

Everyone thought that Dylan and Lara were supposed to be two halves of a whole because they were twins. Identical twins, at that. The truth was, they weren’t close. Even though they shared a bedroom during the summer. 

Dylan didn’t even have friends. Though, that was his choice. Sort of. His being a magician drove a wedge between him and everyone else...like an invisible pane of glass separated Dylan from everyone else. As such, Dylan was known as the stoic twin. 

Lara was just the mean one. 

The Van Helsing twins weren’t close...but Dylan was painfully aware of when his remaining loyalties shifted. Few and weak though they were, Dylan’s bond with Lara and their father snapped completely almost overnight. 

So when Sky Sprint training came along, and Dylan found himself alone in the hallway with Lara on one side, Amari on the other, the tension so thick it was suffocating. 

Lara’s turn to run the obstacle course came and she left the two of them alone in the hallway. They only had a few minutes together; previous alone time. 

Amari actually sucked in a breath like she’d really been suffocating with Lara there. 

“She’s really not as bad as she seems,” Dylan said, trying to soothe Amari. He attempted to smile but couldn’t quite manage it. Lara treated Amari like crap and that wouldn’t stand. “Well, she is, but she isn’t usually _this_ bad.” 

Amari flashed Dylan a disbelieving look. Which was fair. “Is it true? What she said about Quinton and Maria splitting up?” 

Dylan hated lying to Amari. It made him feel lousy. He leaned his head back against the wall and nodded. “But Maria and Quinton were partners for years before she decided to try something new. It only makes sense that Maria would still have Quinton’s back if he needed her. Partnership is a sacred bond for agents—there’s even a ceremony where you take an oath.” His face colored at the thought of taking that oath with Amari. It was as binding as wedding vows. More so, really. 

“You don’t blame him, then?” Amari asked. 

Dylan shook his head. Quinton was not his enemy and he always treated Maria kindly. Dylan didn’t know if Quinton knew Maria was a magician, but if what Maria said about Quinton was true, that wouldn’t matter to him anyway. He was head over heels for Maria. “My sister is smart and brave and wouldn’t have let anybody make her do something she didn’t want to do.” Then he added, “I miss her.” 

At least, Dylan missed the Maria he knew when he was a little thing, trying to hide his magic from the rest of the family. They’d been really close then. But they chose different life paths and Dylan couldn’t afford to miss his older sister. Especially not when he knew exactly where she was. 

“I miss Quinton too,” Amari said. Her voice was heavy with pain. She and Quinton must have been very close. “Everything would be different if he were here. I wouldn’t feel so . . .” Amari trailed off and turned her face away. 

“Alone?” Dylan said with a small smile. His heart ached for Amari. It wasn't fair that she be hurt like this. “I know the feeling. Lara and I are twins, so everybody assumes we’re super close. But we’re nothing alike. Never have been. Lara likes to be the star of the show, but I’m more like Maria, happy to stay in the background.” 

Amari raised her eyebrows. 

“I know she was famous, but you don’t catch the most dangerous magician of all time and not get famous. Maria was cool with giving Quinton the spotlight, though, letting him do all the interviews.” He shrugged. “It’s just who she was.” 

Cheers sounded from the training room. It was no surprise that Lara made it through the obstacle course. That was her supernatural ability after all: Superhuman Athleticism. 

Dylan started for the door but stopped short, turning back to Amari. “You’re a natural in Sprints. Just take your time. The last bag moves so fast that you can’t stop to think, though. You’ve just gotta take a leap of faith. Do that and you’ve got a chance—but hesitate, and you’re going to get clobbered.” Dylan was not talking about the obstacle course...but he hoped his advice would help Amari with that too.  
  
  
  
_Amari_Peters: How do I know YOU aren’t Moreau’s apprentice???_  
  
  
  


Dylan frowned as he got his food and went to the table Lara was already at. Today’s lunch was spaghetti. At least they fed them well here. He thought hard about his next move. His expression must have been pretty fierce because no one at their table even tried to talk to him. 

Fifteen minutes went by before Dylan decided he would have to lie to Amari again. He hated it, but he couldn’t see a way around it. The Bureau had convinced Amari that the Night Brothers and their apprentices were evil.  
  
  
  


_Magiciangirl18: I’m not, I promise!_

_Magiciangirl18: Tell you what, since you’ve proven you can keep my secret, why don’t we meet face-to-face?_  
  
  
  


Dylan always had some sense of where Amari was in relation to him. Her magic was a sweet siren song that made his own magic fizz and heat. The closer she was, the hotter Dylan got and the higher he felt. 

So even with his back to Amari and Elsie, Dylan knew when Amari approached them. He knew before anyone else, even that annoying Brian Li, who nudged Lara. 

Lara groaned. “You can’t be serious.” 

Dylan wondered absently how hard his father would beat him if he punched Lara in the face and knocked out her teeth. He was pretty sure that if it came from him, he’d be able to sucker punch her. 

“Um, I thought I’d sit with you guys today.” Amari smiled, showing perfect white teeth and cute dimples in her cheeks. Her earnestness was so endearing Dylan had to fight a smile. 

“Sorry,” Lara spat, sounding not the least bit sorry. “Only people with legal abilities are allowed. Besides, we wouldn’t want to catch whatever it was you gave the Crystal Ball.” 

This earned laughs from the group. Some of them threw their feet on the empty chairs so that Amari couldn’t sit even if she wanted to. 

Dylan didn’t laugh, only moved his food around on his plate. He couldn’t meet Amari’s eyes. Because as much as he wanted to knock Lara’s teeth out for how she treated Amari, the crueler Lara was, the more Amari would be pushed to Dylan. 

Amari left the food court, taking the power and the light and all of Dylan’s happiness with her.  
  
  
  


_Magiciangirl18: They’re never going to accept you. But I will if you give me a chance._

_Amari_Peters: When and where?_

_Magiciangirl18: Tomorrow. I’ll message you in the morning with a time and place._  
  
  
  


_Mgiciangirl18: 6:00 p.m. Room 307 in the Vanderbilt Hotel._  
  
  
  


Dylan didn’t sleep that night. There was too much to do. 

He had to get into contact with Moreau and plan for the next steps of their mission. That was pretty easy, since they’d met on the Outernet and Dylan was a technical magician. 

Then he had to reserve a room at the Vanderbilt Hotel so that no one would disturb himself and Amari. To do that, he needed to access some random human’s bank account and transfer the funds to an untraceable bank account and then to the hotel. If he didn’t pay, then the hotel would know because their security was almost as strong as the Bureau’s, since they were a main entrance. 

When preparations were made, it was early morning. Dylan lay in bed, listening to Lara’s breathing. It was even with sleep. Good. 

Dylan cast an illusion of himself asleep, in case anyone should walk in on him. Then, hidden behind his illusions, Dylan moved his hand through the air and painted another illusion. 

And there was Amari, laying beside him. She wore a nightgown that matched his pajamas. Her body was warm and he felt her weight on the mattress beside him. Amari reached out and took Dylan’s hand. “Don’t worry, Dylan. I’m on your side,” she said softly. 

Dylan held the illusion’s hand. He didn’t say anything. It was nice to have her here, to be able to craft an illusion that looked just like the real Amari, but the feelings the real Amari invoked just weren’t there with the illusion. Dylan still felt cold and alone. His loneliness was suffocating.  
  
  
  


When he walked into his Supernatural Immersion class, only a couple of minutes from being late, Dylan wasn’t expecting to see half the class on the floor and the rest of them in desks as physically distant from Amari as possible. He blinked and raised an eyebrow. Were they avoiding her because she was a magician? He almost laughed at himself. What else would they be avoiding her for? 

Lara flashed a smug little smirk at Amari as she moved past her to go sit with the other Legacy trainees. 

Dylan moved to follow...then turned around and walked back to Amari. He sat down at the desk beside her and flashed Amari a tired smile. If they were going to meet, if Dylan was going to come out to her tonight, then he couldn’t be acting like this today. He needed to show her that he really was on Amari’s side. 

The look of gratefulness on Amari’s face was totally worth the look of furious anger on Lara’s. 

A chubby white man in a gray suit came in a few minutes after class was supposed to start. He faced the students, didn’t say a word about the ones sitting on the floor. “Name’s Senior Agent Kozy. Before we get started, I have a message to pass on from Agent Fiona.” He cleared his throat. “There will be a sleep-in taking place in the training rooms tonight with the goal of fostering camaraderie in the midst of competition. Further details to be provided. Now that that’s out of the way, who knows what today’s class is about?” 

“The purpose of Supernatural Immersion is to get us used to being around supernatural entities,” Dylan recited. He was thinking about the sleep-in, wondering if it was co-ed or if they’d be separated by sex. With a flush, he thought of his illusion from last night. What if he got to hold Amari’s hand for real? And sleep next to her? 

“Very good,” Agent Kozy said. He launched into a brief explanation of their supernatural guest today. Then he dimmed the lights. 

A pitch black puddle slunk across the floor to the center of the room. 

Trainees shouted and shrieked. 

Dylan cocked his head, interested. He was pretty sure he knew what that was… 

Billy Pogo went red and pointed with a shaking finger, “I know what that is! It’s a boogeyman! Had one under my bed for years!” 

The puddle of blackness suddenly grew tall and took on the shape of a woman. She was very tall with glowing white eyes that looked around the room of scared trainees. “Boogey _person_ ,” she said. “It’s the twenty-first century, for heaven’s sake.” The boogeyperson gave an introduction on her species. 

She did, Dylan noticed, neglected to mention who created her. He was a little nervous that she would recognize him as a magician, but he had an illusion up blocking the scent of his magic...and Amari should cover for him anyway, since he was sitting right next to her. It was a good thing he’d decided to publicly take Amari’s side in things today. 

The interview with the boogeyperson went pretty well. The other trainees asked questions and didn’t seem to be too afraid, once they learn more. 

Then, of course, Lara had to spoil it. She sat on the floor with her phone in her hand, gazing down at the screen. “I have a question… Well, really more a statement.” 

Amari rolled her eyes. She caught Dylan’s eye as she did. 

Dylan smiled. He felt the same. 

“Says here,” Lara continued, “that boogeypeople date back seven hundred years to the war with the Night Brothers.” 

This statement got the boogeyperson’s hackles rising. She glanced at Agent Kozy. “We don’t really like to talk about those days. Dark times and such.” 

Lara kept reading, voice smug as she did. “It’s believed that boogeypeople were created by the Night Brothers and sent into the camps of enemy armies to terrify them in the night. The result being that armies would arrive on the battlefield drowsy and sluggish.” Lara finally looked up from her phone, a look of disgust on her face. “Such a scandalous beginning for your kind.” 

Dylan liked the boogeypeople, even though they didn’t want to rejoin Moreau’s side. He felt a sort of fondness for them and he didn’t like that Lara was trying to drag up old stuff just for the sake of creating drama. His twin was really getting on Dylan’s nerves. 

Agent Kozy intervened. Or tried to. 

But Lara kept right on going. “But there’s a magician right here in this room. Don’t you recognize one of your masters?” 

The boogeyperson sniffed a few times. This was why Dylan always hid his scent when he was at the Bureau; you never knew what kind of creatures you’d run into. Some of them could smell the magic in a magician’s blood. She looked directly at Amari and swiftly dropped to her knee. “Apologies, my lady. I didn’t recognize you.” Her voice turned terrified. 

Dylan leaned back in his chair, satisfaction curling through him. This was how it should be. The others should respect Amari - and himself - as magicians. They _should_ be afraid. And Amari? She should be treated like a queen. 

“Oh no, you don’t have to bow.” Amari did not look happy by this turn of events. Then again, she was shy and didn’t like attention on herself. Dylan understood. “Please stand up.” 

The boogeyperson rose to her feet. Her glowing white eyes held fear. “Us boogeyfolk know what you magicians are planning, and we don’t want any part in it. Please don’t force us, I’m begging you.” Her voice went up an octave from sheer fear. 

Amari’s expression was a mixture of horrified and pleading. “I’m not - do you mean Moreau?” 

“ _Please_ , just leave us be!” The lights flickered and the boogeyperson disappeared into the shadows.  
  
  
  


Tonight was the night that Dylan was going to reveal himself as a magician to Amari. He was so nervous. His feet were definitely sweaty. He made his excuses to his family, saying that he was going to do some independent study, and then he was free. Dylan used his father’s transporter to leave the Bureau and enter the Vanderbilt Hotel. He put a full-body glamour on so that no one would know his identity. Then he checked into his hotel room, got his key, and went up to the third floor. 

Dylan’s disguise was not what many would expect from a boy like him. For one, it was a woman. She was obviously an adult, but not an old adult, in her early twenties. Her hair was bubblegum pink, cut into a cute pixie style. Her eyes were grass green. Tattoos covered both arms and disappeared beneath her clothes. She wore a pair of _very_ ripped jeans with fishnets underneath and a black corset-style shirt that pushed her breasts so far up, her nipples were almost showing. 

Dylan liked using her as a disguise partially because he liked that she didn’t have to fall into line and be a perfect Van Helsing child, and partially because when he wore this disguise, he could touch himself and feel _her_. Tonight she would come in handy because Dylan has been pretending to be a girl this whole time, talking to Amari. 

He glanced at himself in the full-length mirror by the door. The disguise was flawless but Dylan found himself picking at his clothes and fussing with his hair the nearer that it got to six pm. Amari would be here soon. Dylan could feel her getting closer. He closed his eyes and prayed that this went well. He prayed that Amari wouldn’t hate him. 

Then Amari’s magic was practically on top of him. He heard a faint knock. 

Dylan had purposefully told her the wrong room number, in case he got cold feet. He was in the room behind her. If he got cold feet now...he wouldn’t be able to live with himself. This was his only chance. Dylan opened the door and saw the back of Amari’s head. 

Her tight black curls bounced as Amari spun around. She looked surprised and hostile, like a cat backed into a corner. 

“Hurry,” Dylan said. His voice came out as the woman’s voice, melodic and high. “Before anyone sees.” 

“Are you —“ 

“Yes!” Dylan hissed. “Now come inside.” He stood aside for Amari to enter. To his immense relief, she did. Dylan poked his head out into the hallway, looking around to make sure Amari didn’t invite Elsie. “You came alone, right?” 

“I did,” Amari said. 

“And nobody followed you?” Dylan pressed. 

“I...I don’t think so,” Amari said as though the thought never occurred to her. 

Dylan did a quick check of the security cameras in the hotel. He saw that Elsie did in fact come with Amari for part of the way, but the split before getting to this floor. Dylan erased the footage. “Good.” He slipped the fancy wooden Do Not Disturb sign onto the doorknob, then shut the door. Dylan took a few steps backward, deeper into the room. 

Amari’s beautiful brown eyes watched his every move, suspicion and hope showing equally in her gaze. 

“I’m going to show you something, but you have to promise not to freak out. Okay?” 

Amari gave him a doubtful look. “Um . . . or maybe you could just tell me what you’re about to do?” 

“It’s better if I just show you,” Dylan promised. Slowly, so that he wouldn’t spook her, Dylan raised his right hand. He passed it in front of his face and whispered, “Dispel.” His magic has never come easier to him than when he’s around Amari. It practically leapt to do what he’s asking. 

Amari jumped back in surprise. 

Dylan knew what it looked like because he’s done this in front of a mirror before. Still, the look on Amari’s face was pretty funny. He couldn’t help but laugh. It came out echoing, as though two people were laughing in tandem; partially the woman and partially his own voice. 

Amari’s eyes widened. Her shoulders raised all the way up to her ears. Every single thing about her body language said that she didn’t like this at all. Amari turned heel and bolted for the door. 

“Wait!” Dylan pleaded. It was only his own voice now, the one Amari recognized. 

Amari turned around to look and her jaw dropped. 

Dylan smiled as he removed the last traces of his disguise. Now it was just him in front of Amari. “Okay, maybe I should’ve warned you,” he conceded. Right now he felt so giddy that he could barely contain it; a combination of proximity and the fact that Amari did in fact stay when he asked her to. 

“No way . . .” 

“Yes way.” He chuckled. “Surprised?” 

“But . . . I don’t get . . . I mean . . . how?” 

“How do you think?” Dylan’s grin widened, tone teasing. 

“You’re a magician?!” It only took Amari a few seconds to get it. Her eyes went huge. Her eyebrows raised up in surprise. 

Now that he wasn’t hiding anymore, Dylan could show Amari a thing or two. He blew into his hand. Three butterflies made of fire burst into life in a shower of tiny sparks. They flew circles around Amari’s head, leaving little smoke trails. 

Amari stared at them in wonder. 

Dylan’s heart swelled until it felt like it would burst. He’s never shown anyone except for Maria this. Moreau’s other apprentice had shown Amari scary magic, but Dylan was here to show her how incredible it could be. It felt so good, being with Amari felt so good. The wonder on her face felt so good. Dylan was almost dizzy with the happy, bubbly feeling that filled him. He let the butterflies fizz out and fade away into nothing. 

Then, Amari began asking questions. She didn’t stop. She didn’t pause for breath. 

This time it was Dylan whose eyes widened. “Whoa! One at a time!” 

Amari looked embarrassed. “Sorry. Why in the world did you call yourself magician _girl_?” 

Dylan felt blood rush to his face. He wasn’t ready to tell Amari _everything_ about himself, like how much he enjoyed being a girl sometimes. Still, he was happy to be able to tell her a partial truth. “It was part of my cover. I wasn’t sure if I could trust you. The Bureau doesn’t know about me yet and I want to keep it that way. I didn’t know if you’d report me or not.” 

“Okay…” Amari said slowly, processing. “But why didn’t your magic show up on the Crystal Ball like mine?” 

Dylan smiled. He was glad she dropped that. “Because I crafted an illusion. Made it look like I was just another trainee. Took me months to get it just right.” 

Amari nodded to herself as another piece of the puzzle clicked into place for her. She shifted on her feet. “Well, what about the boogeyperson? Why couldn’t she smell you?” 

Dylan’s smile blossomed into a grin. So far this was going really well. “Illusions can fool any of the senses, not just sight. I wrapped myself in an illusion that can only be smelled instead of seen. You never know what supernaturals you’ll run into at the Bureau, so I make sure to always hide my magician’s scent.” 

“That’s incredible,” Amari said. 

Dylan shook his head. He was good, but Amari was better...especially when she was around him. He wondered what it would be like to make illusions together. “Not as incredible as your illusions. You made it seem like the Crystal Ball filled with smoke and cracked,” he said. 

Now it was Amari’s turn to shake her head. “But that was just an accident.” 

Dylan very much wished that Amari had more confidence in herself. Well, he would have confidence in both of them for now. He was rooting for her. In the back of his mind, Dylan began to make plans. “Exactly!” said Dylan. He wanted to take Amari’s hands in his, but didn’t dare. There was a fine line between overzealousness and stomping all over boundaries. Instead, Dylan clasped his own hands together. “Only an extremely powerful magician could’ve pulled off an illusion of that size without realizing it.” 

Amari looked doubtful. She stared at her feet and a furrow appeared between her eyebrows. 

Dylan took a half step closer, then forced himself to stop. She needed room to think and room to process, not some eager boy getting up in her space. “Compared to you, I’m a pretty average illusionist, but I’m a really strong technologist.” 

Amari raised her gaze and cocked her head to the side. Finally, he’d caught her interest again. “What’s a technologist?” 

Dylan smiled. He sent a message to Amari’s phone, the same way he’s been doing for weeks now. Amari’s phone buzzed with the notification. “Answer it,” he encouraged. 

Amari pulled her phone out of her pocket, saw the screen, and gasped. 

_Dylan: pretty cool, huh?_

“No way!” Amari exclaimed, a smile spreading across her face and lighting up her features with a happy glow. “That’s _so_ cool.” 

Her praise made Dylan’s chest puff out with pride. It’s the first time that anyone has complemented his magic, that they think his abilities are cool instead of a curse. Even Maria thought of magic as a burden. “Isn’t it? Magic isn’t the curse my dad and everybody else at the Bureau make it out to be. I’ll bet they gave you that whole speech about how too much magic turns you evil, blah blah blah. Am I right?” 

Amari nodded agreement, still marveling at the message Dylan had sent her. The joy was gone from her face, replaced with concentration and a little annoyance, like she was remembering something unpleasant. 

Dylan continued, “Well, nobody gave the Night Brothers their magic. They were born magicians.” This was going to take a while, he suspected, and went to sit on one of the chairs by a half table. 

Amari joined him, sitting down in the other one. “Moreau said I’m probably a born magician too.” Amari said this like she thought he was crazy. Or maybe she was in denial. 

Dylan had been wondering why he responded so intensely to Amari’s magic. Now he was beginning to get an inkling of just how much they would really mean to each other. First, he had to talk to Moreau, just to verify if what he thought was correct. But if it was...Dylan’s stomach swooped like he was on a rollercoaster going down a steep slope. If Dylan was right, then he and Amari were destined to be together. “So it’s true, then? I overheard my dad talking to the chief about you going to Blackstone to meet with Moreau.” 

“Yeah.” Amari nodded. She put her phone back into her pocket. “He claims there’s some big plan to destroy the Bureau. Kind of like what that boogeyperson was saying. Remember what you said about Moreau’s apprentice wanting to make a trade for VanQuish? Well, it wasn’t just to free Moreau, it was to obtain some kind of destructive power too. Something Moreau says was taken from him.” 

Dylan started to sag something, then stopped himself. They were treading in very dangerous territory now. If Dylan said the wrong thing, he would scare Amari away and the Bureau would lock him up in Blackstone without hesitation. He would spend the rest of his life there being experimented on, and kept in complete isolation and darkness. And who knew how many centuries the rest of his life would be. It sounded worse than death. 

“What?” Amari asked, picking up on Dylan’s slip. She leaned forward, brown eyes sparkling with excitement. “Do you know what it is?” 

Dylan forced himself not to lean either toward her or away from her. “I...might…” Dylan’s feet were sweating again, nerves this time. He needed to be _very_ careful. Amari was so smart and intuitive. If he said too much, she would figure it all out. “Some magicians believe that the Night Brothers created their own spell book—something called the Black Book. Supposedly the most powerful spells a magician can wield. Vladimir was probably the strongest weaver the world’s ever seen.” 

“Weaver?” Amari cut in. 

“It’s a kind of magician, like an illusionist or a technologist. They weave together new spells. It’s why the Night Brothers were so powerful. They were a perfect team—Vladimir created the spells and Moreau carried them out. After Vladimir’s defeat, the Black Book was supposedly locked away in the Great Vault in the Department of Supernatural Investigations.” This was getting way too close to the truth. Too close to things that Dylan didn’t yet want Amari to know. Rather lamely he added, “If it’s even real.” 

“Do you think it might contain spells that could destroy the Bureau?” 

Dylan shrugged. “But I can tell you one thing. They’d be far beyond the abilities of an ordinary magician. You’d need to be incredibly magical to even use them. Like, born magician magical. Like Moreau himself or…” 

Amari looked up to meet his eyes. “Or like me.” 

Dylan nodded, breath catching as he gazed into her brown eyes. 

To his surprise, Amari shivered. She looked uncomfortable. “What makes a born magician so special?” If magicians didn’t have to hide then Amari would know this. It should be taught so that everyone knew. 

Dylan felt a flush of anger. He leaned back in his chair and used the action to mask the illusion he created over his face. It was half habit to use illusions to cover any emotions he didn’t want anyone to see. Right now, anger wasn’t what would get Amari on his side. “Born magicians are really rare. The Night Brothers are the only ones I’ve ever read about. It’s like nature itself chose you to be a magician. The rest of us inherit our magic from another magician.” 

“But how can we be sure I’m a born magician? Couldn’t someone have given me their magic without me knowing?” Amari’s tone was half pleading, half challenging. She really didn’t want this. She didn’t know what a gift they had. Everyone was making her think that what she was was a bad thing. 

Dylan couldn’t stand it. “Not exactly. The Apprenticeship spell isn’t the kind of thing you’d forget. It’s pretty intense, and it binds you to that magician forever. You two basically share the same magic.” And so did two magicians born at the same time. The Night Brothers were bound together forever. Raoul Moreau really suffered when he wasn’t with his partner, Sergei Vladimir. 

“Who gave you yours?” 

Dylan sighed. He ran his fingers through his blond hair, caught sight of himself in the mirror and dropped his hand. “I’m going to trust you with another really big secret, okay? I’m only telling you this to prove that being a magician doesn’t automatically make you a bad person.” 

“I won’t tell anyone. Pinkie promise.” Amari held out her hand, pinkie extended. 

Dylan reached out and locked his pinkie with hers. This was the closest he’s come to holding her hand. He hated breaking contact. “You know the story of how my ancestor Abraham Van Helsing drove a stake into Vladimir’s heart, right? Well, there’s a reason Vladimir trusted him so much. Abraham Van Helsing was one of Vladimir’s magician apprentices.” 

“Are you serious?” Amari asked, leaning forward in her chair again. 

Dylan nodded seriously. “Totally serious. Van Helsing magicians have passed that magic down through our family for generations, keeping it secret from the rest of the family. The magic was passed to my uncle, who passed it to Maria before he died. And once she made Special Agent she passed it to me—” 

“Wait!” Amari interrupted, raising a hand. “You’re saying Maria is a magician too?” Her eyes went wide. 

“There’s a reason I knew how to beat the Crystal Ball, explained Dylan. “Members of my family have been doing it for nearly seven hundred years.” He shrugged. 

Amari leaned back and crossed her ankles. She tapped one finger against her cheek. “So we aren’t the first magicians to join the Bureau . . .” 

“Not even close! And not one of the magicians in my family went on any terrible crime sprees. They were as normal as anyone else. If anything, they used their magic to make themselves better at their jobs,” Dylan said firmly. “It sucks that people hate magicians so much that they had to take their secret to the grave, though.” 

“Did Quinton know about Maria being a magician?” 

“I don’t think so. We really aren’t supposed to tell anyone.” 

“Then why do the bad magicians go bad?” Amari asked. 

“Beats me.” Dylan didn’t actually know the answer to her question. He had an idea though… “Maybe they get tired of being automatically hated because of the Night Brothers and they just snap.” He leaned forward, snapping his fingers and gesturing. “Doesn’t it make you angry how Lara and the other Junior Agent trainees treat you? It’s one of the reasons I took a risk and messaged you. I couldn’t stand the thought of you believing the hateful stuff the supernatural world wants you to believe. We’re different from every other person in the Bureau—but that just makes us special.” 

Amari blessed Dylan with one of her dazzling smiles. “Where did you learn all this?” 

_Careful_ , Dylan told himself. “You probably know from my sister that my family has money. Rather than spend it on dumb shopping trips, I buy up whatever I can find about magicians. My parents think I’m going through a phase. Or at least that’s what they’re hoping. My dad is so paranoid about it he forbade me from talking to you. It’s why I haven’t exactly been the most out-going person whenever my sister is around. She’s rat me out in a heartbeat.” From his jacket pocket, Dylan removed a small book. He held it to Amari. “Bought this book of spells at a collector’s auction last year. It once belonged to Madame Violet, one of the most famous illusionists who’s ever lived.” 

The book was small and made of black leather. A tiny golden key dangled from a length of velvet. The spellbook would do her good...and it would be a good test to see how far Amari was willing to go and what she was willing to learn. 

Amari took the book, looking nervous. 

Dylan wrung his hands together and used the motion to dispel the illusion covering his facial expression. He wanted to look at Amari without illusions between them, to let her know how serious secrecy was. “This secret is a really big deal to me and all the magician Van Helsings that came before me. We aren’t even allowed to tell the non-magician members of our family what we are. And believe me, my mom and dad would freak if they knew the truth about me and Maria.” Freak as in they would kill their children at best and lock them up in solitary darkness until they died at worst. “I guess I’m asking if you’re somebody I can trust.” 

Dylan’s heart beat a million miles a minute. His hands and feet felt cold as anxiety waged war on the floating feelings that came with being around Amari. He waited tensely for her response. 

Amari lowered her eyes to the book in her lap. She sat so still that she could be a statue. Her long lashes nearly touched her cheeks. She ran a brown finger along the edge of the spellbook’s cover. Amari held all of the cards, all of the power. She could destroy Dylan...his life _and_ his heart. After what felt like forever, Amari met Dylan’s eye and smiled. “You can definitely trust me.” 

Dylan returned her smile full force. The sense of relief he felt was so strong that he shook with it. He glanced at the alarm clock on the nightstand beside the bed. “We should be getting back to the Bureau,” he said reluctantly. They were finally spending one-on-one time together, actually talking about things without anyone to get in the way or posture to, but Dylan would be in monumental trouble if his father caught him alone in a hotel room with Amari. 

Amari nodded and stood up. She stretched, still holding the spellbook. “Are you going to put your disguise back on?” she asked, the curiosity evident in her voice. 

“Yeah. If magiciangirl18 doesn’t come out of the hotel room she went into but Dylan Van Helsing does, then security is going to have questions.” Aware that Amari was watching, Dylan waved his hand over his face. Slipping into the woman disguise was second nature after all the times he’s done it. He winked at Amari. 

Amari gave him a shy smile and ducked her head. Dylan couldn’t be sure, but he thought she might be blushing. “We should leave separately,” she said. 

“You go first,” Dylan said. 

Amari left without any fuss or unnecessary lingering. 

Once she was gone, the door closed behind her, Dylan flopped down onto the bed. He heaved a huge sigh. “Why doesn’t she feel the same way I do?” he wondered aloud to the ceiling. The ceiling did not answer.


	4. I’ll Be Your Daydream

Dylan walked down the hallway of Director Apartments until he came to the door marked _Van Helsing_. He tossed his magic at the keypad and the door clicked open. 

“Where have you been?” Father asked the second that Dylan was through the door. He was tall and muscular, a lifetime of working in the department of Supernatural Investigations leaving him scarred, strong, and very suspicious. He glared down at Dylan. 

Dylan stood with his back perfectly straight. “The library, sir,” he said. He stared into a middle distance, giving the illusion of looking at his father without challenging him. A few days ago, Dylan copied a bit of old footage of him studying in the library and now he used his magic to splice it into the security footage. It was a seamless operation. Unless someone looked very closely at both days, they wouldn’t know it was a copy. Or they would think Dylan was strange for checking out the same books to study. 

Director Van Helsing frowned at that. He wanted perfect children but he didn’t like it when he was expecting to punish them only for the little Van Helsings to slip away. Then his pale eyes lighted on Dylan’s eyes. Quick as a snake, father struck, gripping Dylan’s chin and jerking it up. His fingers dug painfully into Dylan’s jaw. “What is that?” Father’s voice was a low, angry hiss. 

Dylan waited for his father to blink. That was all the time he needed to cast a quick glamour. The eyeliner around his eyes was suddenly just bags beneath them. “I haven’t been sleeping well.” Dylan’s stomach roiled with what he was going to say next. “The...uh...magician girl running loose...is...concerning.” He thought he was going to throw up. No, he was sure that he was going to throw up. Dylan tasted bile in the back of his throat. 

Father took another look at Dylan’s eyes, saw that it was just exhaustion and not makeup around his son’s eyes, and his grip loosened. He patted Dylan’s cheek. “Don’t you worry about her. We’re watching her twenty-four/seven. The Van Helsings are magician slayers. We’ll take care of that girl.” 

Dylan could only nod. 

“Get cleaned up. You and Lara need to be at the training room tonight. There’s a sleep in to build relationships. And don’t worry about the magician. I won’t let her put the Bureau or my family at risk,” Father said. 

Dylan dipped his head. He hurried through the apartment, brushing past his mother on the way to the bathroom. He barely got the shower turned on before dropping to his knees in front of the toilet and throwing up. Dylan threw up until only yellow stomach acid came up. Then he sat back on trembling haunches and wiped his mouth clean with toilet paper. 

With shaking hands, Dylan undressed. He stepped into the shower and sat beneath the spray of hot water, arms wrapped around his legs and his head bowed. He hated himself and his family and the whole world. Amari deserved better than Dylan. That’s why he was doing this, though. So that they didn’t have to hide. So that they could be true to themselves. 

Dylan stayed in the shower until the water ran ice cold and then he stayed for a little while longer after that.  
  
  
  


Dylan distinctly remembered laying down to sleep in the boy’s side of the training room. So when he opened his eyes and found himself _not_ in bed in the training room, Dylan realized that the first tryout had begun. He sat up and looked around. He was in a small, dusty library. The books that lined the shelves were worn and there were cobwebs hanging from the ceiling. Then, Dylan spotted Amari lying on the floor a few feet away and he lost all interest in his surroundings. 

Dylan crawled over to her. Amari must have been awake still because in the Wakeful Dream, she looked asleep. He sat beside her, studying her face and wondering what was going to happen. Were they expected to fight each other? Dylan didn’t like the idea of being pitted against Amari like that. Nothing happened while he waited for Amari to fall asleep in the real world and soon, Dylan became bored. You could only look at your soulmate sleeping for so long before you wanted to do something else. He flicked her cheek. 

Amari’s eyes flew open. She sat bolt upright, confusion on her face. 

Dylan jumped when she woke but quickly covered it. He stood up. “Good. You’re finally asleep.” 

“You mean awake?” Amari asked, rubbing her eyes like she was still tired. 

“No, I mean asleep. We’re sharing a Wakeful Dream. I think this is the first tryout,” Dylan said. 

Amari groaned. “Are we partners?” 

_She wants to be partners,_ Dylan thought. 

A red ball of flame erupted between them. It grew, color turning white, before exploding into words of fire. They hung suspended in the air between Dylan and Amari. 

Dylan circled around to read them. 

**WELCOME TO THE FIRST**

**JUNIOR AGENT TRYOUT.**

**GET TO THE BASEMENT DOWNSTAIRS AND**

**RETRIEVE WHAT WAS STOLEN.**

**HINT: IT’S THE MOST VALUABLE THING YOU’LL FIND.**

**BE PREPARED TO EXPLAIN YOUR CHOICE.**

**AND REMEMBER.**

**YOUR EVERY DECISION WILL BE JUDGED.**

**GOOD LUCK!**

The words disappeared into wisps of smoke and then even that faded. For a few seconds, they stood in stillness and silence. 

“Be prepared to explain your choice,” Dylan repeated thoughtfully. Which meant that every single thing that they did would be judged harshly. He would have to keep that in mind. 

“Maybe there’s more than one object to choose from?” Amari suggested. 

Dylan laughed. “Well, it wouldn’t be much of a challenge if there wasn’t. I think we need to figure out the answer to your first question -- are we supposed to work together or this a me versus you competition?” 

“It has to be a competition,” Amari said promptly. “If they eliminate the loser of each pairing, then that leaves the sixteen trainees that move on to the next tryout.” 

She doesn’t want to work together, Dylan realized unhappily. He tried for a winning smile. “True, but don’t forget that real agents always work in pairs.” 

Amari bit her lip. 

It was so cute that Dylan had to turn away. He hummed in the back of his throat. “Maybe we should agree to work together until something tells us we can’t.” 

“Okay,” Amari said, still unhappy. 

Dylan didn’t get it. He thought that they were doing okay. Their last interaction went really well. Maybe Amari wished that he hadn’t told her about being a magician? The very idea that Amari may be rejecting him - and their bond - made a wave of sadness wash over Dylan. He pushed it away. Later, he would get upset. Right now, he wanted to stay with Amari for as long as possible..even if she didn’t want to stay with him. “We should start by observing our surroundings. There’s probably a reason we’re in this room.” 

Amari looked around, apparently happy to have something to take her mind off of Dylan. “All I see is a lot of books.” 

“Look for details,” Dylan said. He pointed to the cobwebs on the ceiling. “How about those cobwebs?” He made a show of scenting the air. “And there’s dust everywhere. Maybe we’re in an abandoned house.” 

Amari shook her head. She pointed to a pot full of white and purple flowers. “Someone has to be watering those.” 

For all that he’d been bored while Amari was lying on the floor, Dylan hadn’t even noticed the flowers. “Good find. Let’s keep that in mind while we head to the basement. Uh, okay if I lead?” If there was someone else here, they may not be friendly. Dylan wanted to be the first to be attacked, so that he could defend Amari. 

Amari agreed and they were off. Dylan thought that they were doing pretty good. There were a few close calls - from both of them - but they made it to their final destination without waking up. Then Amari grabbed the crown and all heck broke loose. 

A wave of water rushed at Dylan, knocking him off his feet and sending him slamming into a wall with enough force to knock the air out of his lungs. 

Dylan shot up in bed, gasping for breath. The shades fell off his face. When he could breathe easily, he looked around, realized he was back in the training room. He’d woken up. It was all up to Amari now. 

Most of the other boys were already awake and crowded around Dylan’s bed. “You’re the last boy to make it,” Billy Pogo informed him. “Now we’re just waiting on the girls.” 

“I wonder which one of them is left,” muttered Brian Li. He gave Dylan a curious look. “Who was your partner? Amari, right?” There was less disdain in his voice than at the Welcome Social, now that Lara wasn’t here to impress, but it was still there. 

Dylan ignored the other boys, laid back down, and let out a sigh. He knew that Amari wouldn’t let him down. She was too good for that. Even with the slipup with that girl in the stranded trainee room. Thinking about that made Dylan shiver with rage. It was only a Wakeful Dream, not real danger, but in the moment he’d been so enraged that anything would _dare_ attack his Amari. Using another trainee to get them to let their guard down had been smart...but Dylan wasn’t sure he would be able to look at Stephanie again without hating her. 

Then one of the Special Agents came over and shushed the boys. “Now that everyone is awake, please go to the locker rooms and get changed into your trainee uniforms. Once everyone is dressed, we’ll head to the briefing auditorium to meet with Agent Fiona and Agent Magnus, and the girls, for the results. The tryout hasn’t concluded, so no talking among yourselves.” This was said with a pointed look at Billy and Brian. 

The boys did as they were told, moving in silence, shooting each other anxious looks. Dylan was the only one who didn’t even look at the others. As a Van Helsing, this wasn’t abnormal behavior...and Dylan had always been more reserved than Lara. In a way, it was surprising how easy it had been for Dylan to decide to cut ties with everyone in his life except for Amari and Moreau...and Moreau barely counted as a tie since they rarely spoke to each other anymore and had only met in person a few times. 

The boys changed and went to wait in the auditorium. They all stood a few feet apart. Agent Magnus and Agent Fiona were nowhere to be seen but the Agent who was there when Dylan woke up stayed with the boys, keeping a sharp eye on them. 

Dylan stood with his feet apart, shoulders squared, hands behind his back. He stared straight ahead, expression blank. His father had drilled the pose into both Dylan and Lara and they could hold it for hours. But only Dylan actively fell into stillness like he was a statue in the background. 

The minutes ticked on and on. There was no sign of the girls. The boys began to get restless, fidgeting and making noise. Not talking, just making sounds. When the girls still didn’t show, even the Agent began to get restless, looking at their wristwatch and glancing at the door. 

Dylan’s phone vibrated. He pulled it out and checked the message just to give himself something to do with his hands. 

_Mom: I would like to meet your partner. Please bring her by the apartment sometime. I was a big fan of Quinton._

“Hey! No phones!” The Agent snapped at Dylan. 

Dylan put his phone back into his pocket. He used magic to send his mother a confirmation message. It wouldn’t be tonight, not so soon after telling father that he was worried about Amari. But sometime soon. If Dylan could swing it. 

It seemed to take forever before Agents Magnus and Fiona walked through the door. They took their places. 

Fifteen minutes later, the girls showed up. 

“It seems the girls have arrived,” said Agent Magnus. “Please come up and stand next to your partner.” 

Amari joined Dylan on stage. 

Dylan tried to ask how it went without actually speaking. If only they were telepaths like Maria. But blood magic wasn’t really Dylan’s thing and Amari was currently exclusively an illusionist. 

Amari’s resulting shrug was somewhat concerning. He wondered what it meant. 

Agent Fiona cleared her throat and stepped up to the center of the stage where they could all see her. “Now that everyone’s here, allow me to start by saying that no matter how ye did during your tryout, ye should be proud of yourselves. This tryout is designed to trick ye, to test your instincts and your ability to work as a team. Instincts and teamwork are the foundation of what makes a great agent.” 

The words of Madame Violet rang in Dylan’s head: _The first lesson in the training of an illusionist is this: Never trust. Take absolutely nothing at face value. In viewing anything, assume its appearance is false until proven otherwise._

Agent Fiona began explaining exactly how they were tricked and called the names of several trainees who failed the first test. Then she moved onto the second test and the third. Eight trainees left the stage after being told that they failed the stranded trainee room test. 

Dylan did a quick headcount. There were only sixteen trainees left. 

“Good news, all. Since we’re already at the sixteen trainees we expected to keep, it means everyone left onstage has passed the first tryout. But dontcha go gettin’ comfortable, because the second tryout will be a doozy! Lucky for two of ye, the pair that scored the highest in this tryout gets a head start at the next one. Now then, the objective was to retrieve what was stolen, and we gave ye a hint that it was the most valuable thing you’d find.” Agent Fiona’s expression turned mischievous. “Curiously, every pair but one left with the crown in hand. Would ye believe the odd pair is none other than Dylan Van Helsing and his partner, Amari Peters? I wonder, does that make ye more or less confident in your choice?” Her blue eyes sparkled. 

Dylan whipped around to face Amari, a question in his eyes. Did they fail the tryout because she didn’t bring the crown? Why did she leave the crown behind? 

Amari opened her mouth to speak...then closed it without saying anything. She shrugged again. Doubt swam in her brown eyes. 

Agent Fiona went down the row, interviewing each pair to ask why they made the decisions they did. There were a lot of answers, a lot of them along the line of thinking that Dylan himself had. 

Because they were at the very end of the row, Dylan had time to calm down and think. The more that he thought of it, the more he realized that while he’d done good with sticking together and the stranded trainee room, he really dropped the ball with the zombie and the valuable item. They were both _obvious_ in ways that were clearly a trick. Dylan may have been a technologist but he’d read Madame Violet’s spellbook forward and back multiple times - part of the reason that he was so comfortable lending it to Amari - and he knew that he’d failed as a magician by not seeing through these tricks. 

When all the others had been interviewed, Agent Fiona stopped in front of Dylan and Amari. “I’d ask ye about the decision, little Van Helsing, but ye didn’t make it to the end, did ye?” There was a slight bit of contempt in her voice, a dismissiveness to her body language. Agent Fiona was already looking at Amari. 

Dylan felt himself go red but he didn’t argue. He bit his tongue. 

Agent Fiona questioned Amari, circling the pair of them the whole time. 

And Amari didn’t flinch. With each response, she grew more and more confident, even shooting Agent Fiona a cocky grin. Her logic and reasoning for dropping the crown were flawless. Hearing her say it out loud made perfect sense. Of course the snake was guarding the water behind the door; they were in a desert. And of course the snake thought it was going for the water because the pedestal with the crown was closest to the door the snake was behind. 

Finally, Agent Fiona came to a stop in front of them. She broke out into a big grin. “You’re absolutely correct. Congratulations! A perfect score. First time since your brother did it. Ye and Dylan will both receive a thirty-second head start at the next tryout. Should ye decide to split up and choose new partners, then it’ll apply to both your new teams.” Agent Fiona winked and lowered her voice. “Trust you’ll be sticking around then, Peters?” 

Dylan wasn’t sure what she meant by that last bit, but he was so overjoyed that he could hardly stay still. Amari did it! She got them through the tryouts. And it was just now hitting him how Agent Fiona had called Amari his partner. His whole body felt light and bubbly. Dylan picked Amari up and spun her around the stage. 

Amari was so little compared to him that it was a very easy thing to do. Her arms flailed until she dropped her hands onto Dylan’s shoulders. As he spun her around their corner of the stage, Amari laughed and laughed. She sounded so happy and delighted. Her smile didn’t fade one little bit. 

Dylan couldn’t help but laugh with her. By the time he put her on her own feet again, he was dizzy with spinning, but mostly with the high that came from touching Amari. His palms and shoulders were so warm. His face was red with a blush and he felt like champagne bubbles were floating inside of him. “That was so epic!” Dylan exclaimed. “We really did it!” 

Amari nodded, still smiling. Her brown cheeks had a reddish flush to them. “We really did.” 

Before they could continue celebrating, Lara stepped between them. The effect her presence had on both of them was like putting out a candle. She was so angry that she was practically snarling, lips curled back from her teeth. “Give me one reason why I shouldn’t send that video to my father right now.” 

“What video?” Dylan asked. He was already reaching out with his magic - it was so easy with Amari beside him, her magic flowing into him to uplift him - to search Lara’s cell phone. 

“I recorded your _partner_ using a spell book inside the Bureau. Caught her red-handed,” Lara crowed, spitting out the word _partner_ like it was bile. She sounded so smug about finally getting the upper hand on Amari. 

By the time she finished speaking, Dylan had found the video and erased all traces of it. He double checked Lara’s email and social media to make sure she hadn’t sent it to someone already or made a backup. “Prove it,” Dylan challenged, baring his teeth in a humorless grin. He subtly put himself between Lara and Amari. 

Lara shot Dylan a glare. She pulled out her phone and scrolled through it, looking for a video that wasn’t there. As this knowledge made itself clear, Lara’s smug smirk dropped off her face. “It’s gone! I don’t get it. It was right here!” 

“There you go making stuff up again, sis,” Dylan said, condescension dripping in his voice. He shook his head as thought it was a pity that his sister was so crazy. “Oh, and the book is mine, by the way. Amari’s just borrowing it. You tell dad I brought it here, and I’ll tell mom who _really_ maxed out her Duboise Cosmetics credit card.” Mom didn’t beat them like father did, but she had her own ways of doling out punishment and Dylan had taken the heat for Lara, knowing that he could use it against her later. Mom didn’t quite understand why her son needed so much makeup...and she’d been angry but she kept it between the two of them, not telling father. 

Lara stood there, stunned and fuming. She searched Dylan’s face, then glanced at Amari, and looked back at Dylan. For the first time it seemed to click that Dylan was on Amari’s side and he was her _partner._ Dylan wouldn’t have Lara’s back. She huffed and then stomped away, immediately beginning to whisper to her friends about them. 

“Make sure you put my book back where you found it!” Dylan called after her. Then he turned to face Amari. 

Amari’s brown eyes were wide with surprise. “You erased the video with magic?” she asked softly, sounding as astonished as she looked. 

“Tech-magic has its benefits,” Dylan replied, trying to play it cool. 

“Thank you so much,” Amari said, every ounce of the gratitude she felt pouring into her voice. She smacked her palm against her forehead. “If I’d thought of that earlier, I could’ve saved myself a whole lot of worrying.” 

Dylan’s heart stuttered in his chest. Amari knew that she could count on him. This was such a big step. His face slowly reddened again. He shrugged as though it had been no big deal. “Partners have each other’s backs right?” 

Amari flashed Dylan a fond smile. “Definitely.” 

The remaining sixteen trainees were ushered into a side conference room. The large table was full of desserts; ornately frosted five layer cakes, a dozen types of cookies piled high on their own platters, and fruit pies so fresh from the oven that they were still steaming. And there were crystal bowls of various sweet drinks that came in a rainbow of colors. It was a lot of sugar to be giving sixteen thirteen-year-old kids in the middle of the night. Because it was still predawn according to the Bureau’s computers. 

Dylan only meant to get himself and Amari a slice of chocolate cake. He left her side only for a moment to get their desserts. 

But the next thing he knew, he was surrounded by the other fourteen trainees and by Junior Agents, all congratulating him on having the highest score. Then Lara came and took the second slice of cake from him while Dylan was distracted talking to Billy Pogo. 

Before Dylan could extract himself - and rescue the cake from Lara - father stood at the head of the table and raised a glass of strawberry punch. “Congratulations to our top sixteen trainees!” His voice commanded silence. “And a special congratulations to my son, Dylan, who finished at the top of the rankings. I want all of you to eat, drink, and be merry before our first weekend break. You’ve earned it. On Monday, return to us focused, refreshed, and ready to get back to work! Cheers to you all!” 

The little speech set off another round of applause and the other trainees focused more heavily on Dylan. They spoke around him, at him, barely giving Dylan a chance to reply before holding up their hands for high fives. He set his cake down to high five two Junior Agents at once, only for the cake to disappear. 

Father came and patted Dylan on the back so hard that he almost stumbled. He launched into a speech that was half praise and half reprimand, telling Dylan what he did right and what he did wrong and how to do better. Father threw in a lot of “like a Van Helsing”s too. 

Lara stood next to Dylan, chin raised and beaming as though she were his partner and not Amari. She wasn’t being bombed by people wanting to talk so she’d managed to finish eating the slice of cake she stole. Not a dollop of frosting on her face, of course, or a crumb between her teeth. The encounter between them earlier was put on a back burner in the light of soaking up Dylan’s limelight. 

It should be Amari next to him. 

But everytime Dylan looked for Amari, she was standing by the door, glaring and showing no sign of coming over. 

Dylan tried to inch over to her, away from the crowd. 

A Junior Agent girl slung an arm around his waist, pulling his hip against hers. “Let’s get a picture.” She held up her phone for a selfie. 

Dylan pasted a smile on his face. He hated being photographed. As soon as she looked away from her phone, he was going to delete that photo. For right now, he had to get to Amari. “Excuse me, I need to get to my partner,” Dylan said firmly as he shoved his way through the crowd. “My mother wants to meet her.” Publicly calling Amari his partner sent a little thrill through him. By the time Dylan freed himself from hangerson, Amari was no longer alone. Just his luck. “Um, Amari?” 

Agent Fiona squeezed Amari’s shoulder. “I’ll leave ye two to celebrate. But Peters, do make sure _he_ remembers who got you two that first place.” Then she went to join the others around the table of desserts. 

Amari nodded. She watched Agent Fiona leave, then turned and frowned at Dylan. “What do you want?” 

Dylan flinched at the harshness of her tone. Oh, she was mad at him. Dylan tried to remember if anyone went to say congratulations to Amari. To his embarrassment, he doesn’t know for sure that anyone did. “Can we maybe talk in the hallway?” 

“Why?” Amari asked curtly. “You don’t want your fancy friends to see you talking to me?” 

Dylan’s eyes went wide, even though he suspected this was the problem. If he had been smarter and showed he was on Amari’s side sooner rather than later, then they wouldn’t be having this conversation. “Huh? No…” 

Two Junior Agents went through the doorway. 

Dylan inched closer to Amari. He dropped his voice to a whisper. “You said you wanted to start investigating together, right?” He shook his hand and a silver key slid into his palm. “This is the key to the VanQuish office in the Hall of Special Agents.” It wasn’t real, though it did _look_ real. All of the nights he’s spent getting to know the security system paid off because Dylan could get into any door he wanted to. Except for the Great Vault...but it was only a matter of time. “C’mon.” He waved Amari into the hallway. 

Amari put up no further protests. Her spine straightened and her expression turned eager. She had to almost jog to keep up with Dylan’s longer stride. 

They stepped into the main hallway. It was in the shape of a giant U. Dylan took the right side of the U, toward the Great Vault, but before they got all the way to the Vault he turned down a skinny doorway and into a hallway with gold trim. “The Hall of Special Agents,” Dylan explained. “There are only ever thirty agents per outpost. They take on only the most dangerous missions.” He led them to a wooden doorway with a fancy V carved into the wood. “The department left their office intact out of respect.” 

Amari traced the V with her fingertips. “They’ve already looked in here for clues?” 

“It’s the first place they checked,” Dylan confirmed. 

“Let’s go inside before anyone sees us.” 

Dylan nodded. He used the movement of pretending to unlock the door with the key, to actually unlock the door with his tech-magic. He gave the door a gentle push. The door swung open on silent hinges. “You first.” 

Amari took a couple of deep breaths. Then she stepped into the darkness beyond the door. 

As soon as she was inside, Dylan reached with his magic to turn on the lights. 

Amari’s breath caught. The lights gave her brown skin a golden glow. Her eyes shone with it as she slowly turned a circle around the office. She looked everywhere at once, at all of the photos, awards, trophies, and medals that lined the shelves. There were _a lot_. Shelf upon shelf of things declaring Quinton and Maria to be the best of the best. Amari moved toward a glass case holding a pair of purple Sky Sprints, the same fancy V embroidered on the side. “They had their own Sky Sprints?” She sounded awed. 

Dylan trailed after her, keeping an eye out for anything that changed about the office since the last time he was here. Maria let him visit on the occasions when one of their parents would bring the twins to work with them. _One day,_ he thought, _he and Amari could have an office like this._ When she mentioned the Sky Sprints, Dylan joined her to look into the case. He grinned. “I’d have gotten a pair myself but the lines were crazy.” 

Amari laughed. She moved on to look at magazine covers that featured Quinton and Maria. “They’re really a big deal,” she said as though just now realizing it. 

Dylan knew that the weredragon was obsessed with VanQuish so this shouldn’t exactly be news to Amari. Still, he said, “They really are.” 

Amari turned a circle again, stopping when she was facing Dylan. She looked up at him, head cocked slightly. “I can’t believe Maria would want to give this up.” 

They were so close that Dylan could see each of the individual hairs that made up Amari’s afro. Did she dream of sharing an office like this with _him_? Dylan’s heart hammered but all he did was shrug. “Being a Special Agent is hard. It has to be a lot of pressure having to protect the whole world. Especially when you get crazy famous and the older agents start to resent you for being promoted to Special Agent ahead of them. I know my sister had a hard time with it.” 

Amari nodded absently, moved past Dylan to look closer at some medals. “Is that why she wanted to be a trainer?” 

“I think she and Quinton were starting to get into arguments.” Everyone in the Van Helsing family knew that Dylan and Maria were close - though none could guess the true reason why - so they all believed him when Dylan said that VanQuish was fighting and they wanted to split up. Because to the rest of the family, Dylan was the one who would know. 

Amari stopped and looked at Dylan, something sharp in her gaze. “They didn’t get along?” The way she said it, like she couldn’t imagine their siblings not getting along. Like she couldn’t imagine _partners_ not getting along. 

“Something must’ve happened. Because one day it was just different between them. It was really weird.” 

“No idea why?” 

Dylan shrugged. He knew exactly why. It was because he was using Maria’s codes with the Bureau for things he shouldn’t. That was seven months ago, when he was just starting to infiltrate the Bureau and needed a crack to slip into. Maria’s codes were that crack. Quinton had found out that Maria was looking into things she shouldn’t be...and Maria knew that it was Dylan who’d been doing it. There was a rift between them for a few days, but then they were kidnapped and now it wasn’t much of a concern. 

Amari hummed unhappily. She ventured over to a VanQuish video game poster and frowned. “Didn’t you say this was an office?” 

Dylan smiled. “Say ‘up’.” 

“Up?” Amari repeated. The lights above them turned on. Amari’s feet lifted off the floor and she began to float gently up to where two desks hovered high above them. “Whoa! A floating office?” 

Dylan couldn’t help but smile at how impressed she was. It was strange to look up to Amari from below when normally his view was of the top of her head. He joined her, coming to a stop by Amari’s side. They were beside Quinton’s desk. “Quinton loved working in a cluttered office. But my sister is the cleanest person you’ll ever meet. She threatened to start chucking stuff into the hallway if he didn’t agree to get the office enchanted for more space.” 

Amari’s smile turned soft. “That sounds like Quinton. He’s still got a perfect attendance certificate from the third grade on his bedroom wall.” With that comment, she began to search Quinton’s desk, looking at everything piled on top of it. 

There’s a stack of folders so tall that it’s nearly taller than Amari and a sleek silver laptop. Behind the tower of folders are two picture frames. One photo was of a teenage Black girl and it looked like it had been taken a few decades ago. The other was a more recent photo of a little Black girl - not the same teenage one from the first photo, but sharing some of her features - sitting on a bright red bicycle and grinning. 

Amari took one look at the photo of the girl, ducked her head, closed her eyes, and covered her face with her hands. Out of the blue, she begins to bawl. This was serious crying, full on sobbing in the way that Dylan thought only toddlers were capable of. Amari’s whole body shook as cried and she gasped for every breath like she couldn’t get enough air. 

The suddenness and intensity caught Dylan off guard and quite frankly scared him. There were no displays of feelings like this in the Van Helsing household. Not even when Maria went missing did anyone shed a tear, let alone begin sobbing. If anyone in the family cried, they did it behind closed doors in private. Tentatively, Dylan drapped an arm over Amari’s shoulders, pulling her against him. This was what you were supposed to do when people cried, right? He realized he was shaking. 

Amari cried even harder. Her tears rolled down her cheeks and dropped the long, long way to the floor beneath them. But she didn’t push Dylan away or snap at him. Her whole body trembled and even though their clothes, Dylan felt her skin getting warmer. She just cried until the tears dried up. 

When the tears stopped and Amari was only hiccupping and sniffling, Dylan asked, “That picture must mean a lot to you, huh?” He kept his voice soft, gentle, partially because he didn’t want to spook her but mostly because she’d scared him. 

Amari nodded. Her hair tickled the underside of his chin. “It was the first time I realized that Quinton always had my back, no matter what.” 

Her words made something inside of Dylan go cold and still. When he kidnapped VanQuish, Dylan couldn’t have known that Quinton’s little sister was a born magician. He couldn’t have known that she was his other half, his perfect match. Dylan didn’t know that Amari and Quinton were so close that just looking at an old photograph would make Amari sob her heart out. He was beginning to realize that he’d made a big miscalculation and sooner or later, he expected, it was going to bite him in the butt. “We’re going to find them, okay? We just have to keep believing,” Dylan lied. 

Amari wiped her eyes as she nodded. She tried to smile, to pull herself together after that raw display of emotion. “I do believe that.” Her voice told him that she really did. 

Dylan pulled his arm from her shoulder - even though he hated it, could have spent the rest of eternity touching Amari - and sat down at Quinton’s desk. He opened the silver laptop and hit the power button. “Cross your fingers.” 

Amari stood next to him, leaning into his space so that her face was only inches from his as she gazed at the computer screen. 

Once the laptop powered on, flashing text appeared that read: 

**PLEASE ENTER PASSWORD**

“Could you use your tech magic?” Amari asked, turning her face slightly to get a better view of Dylan’s face. Her breath ghosted across his cheek. 

Dylan’s heart thundered. She was so close. Their faces were _so close_. He shook his head. “On a computer this advanced? It would take me at least an hour. We don’t have that much time.” All of the information on Quinton’s laptop was uploaded to the Bureau’s servers, because in the supernatural world, the Bureau’s wifi could reach anywhere. Even so, Dylan has already seen all of the information on this computer...seven months ago. Because it was also on Maria’s computer. 

Amari bit her lip in that cute way she had. “Scoot over. I want to try something.” 

Dylan slid over under the guise of giving Amari space, but really so that he didn’t have to keep watching her bite her lip. It was cute...in a way that made waves of heat wash between his hips. He put a hand over hers, using the motion to cast an illusion that would mask how red his face was flushing...and as an excuse to hold her hand...however briefly. “Just so you know, these computers are highly classified. If you put in the wrong password even once, it’ll alert security. So...no pressure.” 

Amari swallowed. “Sure, no pressure,” she echoed. 

Dylan briefly squeezed her hand before dropping his hand back into his lap. “Just be sure this is your best guess. You got this.” 

Amari was a slow typer. She used one finger to find each key. Maybe she wasn’t used to traditional keyboards or maybe she was just nervous. The password she typed was Amari-Amazing. Then she hovered her finger over the Enter key, not yet hitting it, caught with indecision. 

Dylan reached over and gently pushed her finger down onto the Enter key. He glanced at Amari to see that she’d closed her eyes and was holding her breath. The password worked even without Dylan helping. Dylan smiled as he used his tech magic to bring up Quinton’s schedule for November 18th. “We’re in! You did it!” Dylan said, letting excitement leak into his tone. It wasn’t hard to fake; Dylan was excited, but about holding Amari’s hand, not getting into the laptop. 

Amari opened her eyes. She scanned the screen. Her eyes widened when she read the date. 

Dylan gasped, playing his part. “That’s the day Maria and Quinton went missing.” 

It was surprisingly easy to get Amari to leave the laptop and the office. She didn’t even ask to look at anything else on the laptop. She was so excited to find any clue at all, that it was all Amari focused on. This was too easy. 

Dylan matched his pace with her fast stride as they walked back up the U-shaped hallway. “Come back to the victory party with me, Amari,” he said. The back of his hand brushed her forearm occasionally, each accidental touch sending a jolt of pleasant electricity through him. 

Amari shook her head. “I have to let Elsie know what we found. Maybe she knows what KH means.” Now that she had a clue, Amari was ready to rush off and get to searching. She had the focus of a bloodhound on the hunt. Every one of her strides was long and she seemed to practically bounce as she walked, so that before Dylan knew it, they were at the elevators. 

“Please, Amari. It’s your party too. You should enjoy it,” Dylan tried one last time. 

It was no use. Amari was already hitting the button for the elevator to take her to the youth dormitories. When the doors opened, she stepped onto the elevator and then she was gone. 

Dylan went back to the victory party. He immediately noticed that something was wrong. The Junior Agents looked apprehensive as they stood against the walls, seeming to mill about less and keep guard more. Special Agents Fiona and Magnus were no longer in the room...and neither was Dylan’s father or sister. Dylan grabbed Brian Li by the arm and hissed, “What happened?” 

Brian shook his head. “Something happened in the youth dorms. It’s got everyone shook up.” 

Dylan’s chest gave a painful squeeze. “ _What happened?_ ” he repeated forcefully. 

Dylan didn’t realize how hard he was squeezing Brian’s arm until Brian whined and tried to pull away. “Ow! What’s your problem?” He looked personally offended. 

Dylan decided to use another tactic. He did not loosen his grip at all. “Where’s my sister?” 

That was when Brian began to sweat. He told Dylan in stops and stutters exactly what rumors he’d heard. “I-I think it’s true. Agent Magnus looked like he was out for blood. And you know how protective he is about Peters.” This was said with a half scowl. He ducked his head a little, aware that Amari was Dylan’s partner and knowing what that meant. Brian added, “Lara went with Director Van Helsing. I think she just wanted to see.” 

Dylan’s teeth ground together so hard that they ached. He could feel his face twisting up in rage. He had to force his fingers to unclench long enough to let Brian go. Dylan turned away, intent to stalk to the youth dormitories and beat the ever-loving tar out of whoever decided to vandalize Amari’s room, but Brian’s voice stopped him. 

“You aren’t planning on keeping her as your partner, are you?” Brian paused, added, “Amari, I mean.” As though it wasn’t obvious. 

Dylan glared at him, saying nothing. Then he did turn and stalk out of the conference room. He didn’t get as far as the youth dormitories. He made it to the elevator, and even to the correct floor. But the second the doors opened, there was Lara. 

Lara crowded into the elevator and pushed the button for the Director's Apartments. She stood with her phone in her hands, not actually doing anything on it. Just using it as an excuse to not look at Dylan. “I thought you and your partner slunk off together,” Lara said casually. “She’s leaving now, you know.” 

Dylan’s spine stiffened. “Leaving for where?” He couldn’t quite make his voice neutral and disinterested. He sent Amari a message on Eurg. 

Lara shrugged. “Don’t know, don’t care. As long as that filthy ghetto magician girl is gone, it doesn’t matter to me.” 

Amari wasn’t nearby but Dylan felt his magic overflow. Technologists couldn’t just navigate technology...they could overheat it too. He poured his rage into Lara’s cell phone. 

It literally exploded in her hands. Lara yelped, dropping the smoldering remains. She quickly picked the half-melted pieces off of her gray suit. “Oh my god!” she exclaimed in surprise. 

They reached the Director Apartments and the elevator doors slid open. Dylan barely glanced at Lara. “Dad’s going to kill you for breaking your phone,” he said, barely holding in his sneer. The message he sent Amari wasn’t even read. He tried again. 

Lara flashed Dylan a panicked look. She stuck her foot between the elevator doors, stopping them from closing. “It wasn’t my fault.” 

Dylan raised an eyebrow. “You don’t have to convince me.” 

“You’ll vouch for me, right?” Lara asked, pale eyes boring into his. Of course she would have a new phone by tomorrow but still. Father would not be pleased. 

“Did you leave that gross drawing in Amari’s room?” Dylan countered. 

Lara narrowed her eyes, a question there. But she only shook her head. “No, I didn’t. I swear!” 

Dylan wasn’t sure that he believed his sister. Putting up a painting of a Black girl with X’s for eyes and a stake through the heart, right above Amari’s bed, seemed like the sort of thing that Lara would do. But Lara _always_ took credit for the crappy stuff she did. She might not want Amari there, but she would say it to Amari’s face - and _has_ said it to her face - rather than beat around the bush like this. “How about a deal? I’ll vouch for the phone, you vouch for my wearabouts.” 

Lara blinked. Then, slowly, she nodded. She held out her hand. 

Dylan shook it. 

They stepped off the elevator together. 

Once in the apartment, Dylan went straight for his father’s den. Director Van Helsing would be busy dealing with the situation in the youth dormitories and mother worked late nights. Dylan sat down on his father’s big leather chair and opened his desk drawer. That was where he kept the transporters. The transporters were inch thick silver bands that fit around the wrist. They were made in a one size fits all, so all Dylan had to do was snap it shut over his wrist. The transporter shifted to fit snugly around his wrist. 

Now to see what exactly Amari was up to. Dylan pulled out his cellphone and began to type. He sent a couple more messages on Eurg, asking if she was okay and where she was. Then he tried to actually call her cell phone, heart pounding at the thought of talking to her over the phone. But his calls went straight to voicemail. He tried a couple more times before admitting defeat. If she was going to answer, she would be. Her phone must be turned off. 

Dylan closed his eyes and leaned back in the chair. He threw his consciousness into the Bureau’s security system, searching through the footage until he found Amari. Through the cameras, Dylan tracked Amari and Elsie through the building...into the Vanderbilt Hotel… Tracking the car they’d left in was a little more complicated, but still fairly easy. He used the CCTV of neighboring buildings to follow the cars progress through the city. When they got to a part of town without many cameras, Dylan just switched to following the GPS. 

Which landed him like ten miles from where he wanted to be. That must be where Elsie lived. 

Dylan frowned and backtracked. The security cameras in this part of town were old and few. Older technology was...difficult to work with. It didn’t like being interacted with. Dylan licked his lips. He knew the general area. Maybe if he went back to the car? He could retrace the car's route? It should be there in the chip. All new cars had chips that recorded all sorts of data. The chip turned out to be a good plan because Dylan found the apartment building that the car had been parked out front of. 

There were no security cameras so Dylan couldn’t see which apartment was Amari’s. “Oh,” he mumbled. “I’m so stupid.” Dylan switched his attention back to the Bureau’s system and found a folder labeled _Trainees._ Inside of it was a list of names. Dylan opened the one that said Amari Peters. It listed her address...including the apartment number. He gave a pleased hum. Well, he knew where she lived. Now he just needed to get _inside_ the building to talk to her. 

Dylan followed the phone lines into the building, mentally traveling along the wires that branched off to different apartments, until he got to the one that went into Amari’s apartment. He could call her home phone. Or he could look around her apartment a little. Dylan explored the various electronics in Amari’s apartment. He found two laptops, the landline phone, Amari’s cell phone - which was turned off - and a television. Not much to work with there. Dylan chose the television. 

Inside of the TV, Dylan could hear what was going on in the apartment; but he couldn’t see anything because it was turned off. He strained his ears to hear any little peep that suggested Amari was still in her apartment and wasn’t spending the night with Elsie or something. 

He thought he heard something move. Did Amari have a pet? Dylan couldn’t remember her saying anything about it. He suddenly realized that he didn’t know a lot about his partner. That needed to be remedied as soon as possible. But for now, Dylan was more interested in making sure Amari was okay and doing damage control. 

“Solis,” Amari’s voice said. She sounded sad. 

Dylan was so excited about Amari trying spells that he asked, “Did it work?” 

“Dylan?” Amari sounded shocked and weirded out. “Where are you?” 

Uh-oh. “I’m kind of inside your TV at the moment. I tried sending you messages on Eurg, then I tried calling your cell phone but it kept going straight to voicemail. So I thought I’d try a more creative approach. If you press the power button we can see each other.” 

Suddenly Amari’s face appeared in Dylan’s mind. He saw her apartment behind her. It was small but clean and showed signs of them having lived there for a long while. Amari stood in the middle of the apartment, holding the television remote. “How in the world are you inside my TV?” 

Dylan grinned. “Tech-magic. Mind if I come over?” 

“When? Like now?” 

“Yup.” 

“Um, okay, just let me -” 

Before Amari could even finish her sentence, Dylan pressed a button on the transporter and was standing in Amari’s living room. He was closer to her than he’d expected to be, only a few inches between them. 

Amari’s eyes widened and she fell backward onto the couch with a yelp of surprise. 

Dylan couldn’t help but grin as he pointed to the silver band around his wrist. “Borrowed my dad’s transporter. He has so many he won’t even notice.” Now that he was here, Dylan looked around her apartment. It was even smaller than it looked on the TV. The couch Amari sat on was well-worn in a comfortable sort of way that Dylan’s family would never tolerate. There was a closed door with a peephole and a sliding lock over it that must have been the front door. And another door that led into a bathroom. A small hallway led to three more doors, all of which were closed. Dylan guessed that they were bedrooms. 

Amari slouched down onto the cushions, proving that the couch was as well loved and comfortable as Dylan suspected. “Are you sure your parents won’t get mad about you for being in this neighborhood?” Amari asked, voice bitter. 

Dylan’s gaze was torn away from the kitchen - so tiny! - and landed back on Amari. “Maybe.” The answer was a big, huge _yes._ But Dylan wasn’t about to tell his partner that. It was clearly a sore spot for her. “But I don’t usually make a habit of telling them where I’m going.” And Dylan had so many alibis that even when they did demand to know where he was, he always got away with doing whatever he was doing. The perks of being a technologist. 

“Must be nice. My mom might work all the time but she’s got the neighbors trained to keep an eye on me. Whenever I sneak out I know she’ll hear about it,” Amari said bitterly, crossing her arms over her chest. 

Dylan plopped down onto the couch beside Amari. His heart jack-hammered. It occurred to him that they were alone in an apartment together. And now they were alone sitting on a couch in an apartment together. Not for the first time, Dylan thought about what it would be like to kiss Amari. His whole body went hot and tingly. To distract himself, Dylan looked around again, examining things at this new angle. 

“Um...so I guess you heard what somebody did to my room,” Amari said, sounding like she didn’t want to talk about it at all. 

The heat of...of feelings vanished, replaced by a hot anger. He faced Amari, turning his whole body. Their knees knocked. Dylan’s heart skipped a beat. But this was serious. “You can’t let ignorant people get you down, Amari. I mean it.” 

Amari frowned. “Easy for you to say.” She rolled her eyes and crossed her arms over her chest. “Nobody even _knows_ you’re a magician. Everyone wants to be friends with you.” 

“I might smile and play along, but I know they’d treat me the same as you if they learned the truth. Maybe worse because of who my family is. Trust me, I know who my real friends are.” Dylan knew for a fact that if anyone ever found out he was a magician - especially his family - he would be disowned from his family and locked away in Blackstone, never to see the sunlight again. He had nightmares about being trapped in that endless, suffocating darkness. And nightmares about his father coming into his room at night and stabbing him through the heart with a stake. Dylan didn’t even _use_ the vampir spell but he doubted that it would matter to father. Anything for the glory of a Van Helsing slaying a magician...especially one cunning enough to hide in the family. Just thinking about it made him so cold. He let out a shaky breath and crossed his arms to hide the way they shook. “I wish Maria were here, I’d ask her how she dealt with having to lie about being a magician literally all the time.” 

Amari sighed and Dylan sensed that she wasn’t angry at him anymore. “I wish there was some way we could just magic VanQuish home.” 

“If only.” Dylan offered Amari a small smile. He still felt bad about Quinton...but Dylan didn’t actually want Maria to come back home. She wasn’t interested in becoming more powerful so that magicians could come out of hiding. Maria was _happy_ to hide like a rabbit in the burrow. But magicians were snakes and snakes didn’t hide like rabbits. “But, hey, we’re becoming Junior Agents, right? We can find them ourselves.” 

Amari shivered. Then her shoulders dropped, like all the fight was going out of her. She hung her head almost to her chest. “That drawing… They _hate_ me, Dylan.” 

Amari rarely said Dylan’s name and it was like a hit of sunshine wine. Dylan’s whole body broke out into goosebumps. He leaned closer, wished that he knew a spell to lift her mood. “So you’re really just giving up? When you could be the one to find them?” 

Dylan didn’t really _want_ VanQuish found...but if they were, then it wouldn’t matter. No one knew that Dylan was Moreau’s apprentice...and VanQuish didn’t actually know who kidnapped them. The instant fame and glory that Dylan and Amari would get, would be a good backup if this thing with Moreau fell through. Dylan didn’t think he was strong enough without Moreau backing him up… 

Amari curled in on herself, not meeting Dylan’s eyes. “Can we just not talk about it? Please?” She sounded so miserable. 

Dylan couldn’t hide his disappointment. As nice as it would be to become Junior Agents together, to become officially recognized as partners within the Bureau, they didn’t need that. They were still connected and their bond was unbreakable. But still, having _another_ connection would be reassuring. Especially one that Amari really seemed to want. After a few moments of silence, Dylan decided to try another tactic. “Well, all right then, let’s see that spell you were trying.” 

Amari looked embarrassed. “I don’t know if I did it right.” 

“Try again,” Dylan encouraged. “I’ll help you.” 

“Really?” 

Dylan nodded firmly. “Really. I know you’re not a quitter. So let’s see that spell.” He’s so eager to see Amari’s magic again. It felt like forever since she last used it with him around. His whole body was on edge, tense with eager anticipation. 

Amari sighed. But she stood up from the couch. She took a deep breath, threw out her arms, and said, “Solis.” It was in the most unenthusiastic voice that Dylan had ever heard in his whole life. Amari’s fingertips shimmered, not even a proper glow. It was so pathetic and so far below what Amari has shown so far. 

Dylan burst out laughing. He fell over into the spot Amari just vacated and laughed into the couch cushions. 

“It’s not funny!” Amari said. Then she started giggling too. 

It took a couple of minutes for Dylan to bite back the laughter that kept wanting to spill from his lips. He propped himself up on his elbows. “It’s just that you could try to be a little enthusiastic when you perform the spell.” He giggled again. His face hurt from laughing so much. “You sound like the last thing you want is for it to work. Remember, your magic is alive. It can sense your doubt.” 

“Fine,” Amari said. 

There was something about her tone that made Dylan sit up. 

Amari threw out her arms and shouted “Solis!” A golden glow started in Amari’s palms and worked its way up her arms. This was not the little shimmer from before, but a proper like looking at one of those old edison light bulbs. 

Dylan’s magic surged within him, responding to Amari’s. His body went hot and tingly again, but about a hundred times stronger than before. He felt his eyes go wide. “It’s working! Look at your hands.” 

Amari lifted her hands to her face. The glow abruptly spread to her entire body, so bright that it showed through Amari’s clothes. Her magic reached out to Dylan’s and the glow grew bright and brighter until - 

“Dispel!” Dylan yelled as he threw up his arms to cover his eyes. Their magic was connected but he could still go blind if Amari got too bright. Dispelling Amari’s solis spell felt like a wave of lukewarm water rushing through Dylan’s body from his head to his toes. It left his heart pounding, his breath coming in a little harder. And still, he couldn’t keep the grin off his face. “You almost got too bright there for a second.” 

Amari’s eyes sparkled like polished tigers eye gems. The tips of her ears took on a rosy tint. “That was _so_ cool!” She punched the air. 

Dylan’s grin widened. “You think that was cool? Check this out.” He waved his hand and the spellbook flew from the floor to the couch beside him. Another flick and the pages turned to the very end. His whole body felt like it set to vibrate as Dylan extended two fingers and waved them over the page. “Dispel.” 

The last page of the spellbook said _The End._ Now that Dylan’s unlocked it the book began to shake and more pages appeared so that _The End_ was now in the middle. Words appeared so that it said: 

**The End**

**of**

**Fair Magick**

**and the beginning**

**of**

**Magick Most Foul**

_That you have found these pages speaks to a willingness to wield more than what fair magick can provide. However, this pursuit comes with a dire warning. The foul magick contained on the following pages is not for the faint of heart. As I learned in their creation, uttering these spells will cost you. For once innocence is lost, it cannot be regained._

He’s read the inscription of the first page so many times that he’s got it memorized. He has the whole book memorized, actually. If his parents knew, they really _would_ kill him on the spot. No more questions asked. Dylan turned the page. The first spell was _Magna Fobia._ From the corner of his eye, Dylan watched Amari’s eyes go back and forth as she read. 

Amari suddenly slammed the book shut. It shrunk back down to the first little black cover. “Why would you show me that?” Amari asked, an accusing note in her voice. 

Dylan blinked in surprise. A chill went down Dylan’s spine even as his face warmed with a blush. He didn’t...he didn’t really expect her to react like that. “I know these spells sound awful. But we need to be able to protect ourselves. You saw how far people are willing to go because they don’t like us. I just don’t want anything to happen to you is all. Self-defense only.” 

“I don’t care,” Amari said, voice hard as steel. “I don’t want to learn anything like that.” Her face was set, arms crossed over her chest and jaw clenched. 

Dylan was still reeling from the shock. Mentally, he gave himself a good shake. “You might not have a choice, Amari. If you were ever to be challenged by another magician, you could have your magic stolen. Magicians don’t survive that.” And Dylan knew of a magician who might try to steal Amari’s magic. Not if Dylan could steal his first though. But in the meantime, she needed to be safe. And she needed to be prepared to deal with all of the opposition they were going to get when the magicians finally came out of hiding. 

“I said no,” Amari said firmly. There was no room for argument in her tone. “I don’t want to learn magic to hurt people. I won’t be like Moreau and those other bad magicians. And you shouldn’t use that stuff either.” 

After a moment, Dylan put his palms up in surrender. He kept his voice neutral as he said, “Sorry. You’re probably right. I guess I just thought...” He didn’t want to say what he thought. This didn’t make Amari weak. She just needed to get used to the idea. Hopefully, she would come around when the time came. “Well, let me make it up to you. There’s something else I’ve wanted to show you. But it’ll mean using my dad’s transporter.” 

Amari looked at Dylan like she expected him to bite her; like he was a snake going to lunge. He wouldn’t hurt her. Ever. “I don’t know…” 

The high of using magic together was still coursing through Dylan’s veins but his mood plummeted. It left him feeling disjointed and off his game. Did he really ruin everything just by showing her a spell? It wasn’t like they _used_ it. “It’s about teaching you to use your illusions. Something that’s not in your spellbook.” He felt shaky. 

Amari raised an eyebrow. “Fair magick, right? Not foul magick.” 

With those words, Dylan realized that he’d broken her trust. Something fractured between them. He _hated_ it. “Totally fair magick. I promise,” Dylan said as sincerely as he could. 

For a few long, tense moments, Amari continued to stare at Dylan like he was _bad_. Then, she released the tension in her shoulders and let them rest normally. “Okay, then.” 

Dylan stood up from the couch. He was pleased when she didn’t back away from him. He didn’t think that he could stand it if Amari didn’t want to be around him anymore. The thought made him nauseous. Though he didn’t like illusions to come between them, Dylan was so out of tune that he used the motion of getting up to mask a little spell. It was only a little illusion to make his voice sound normal until he could get himself back under control. “Grab hold of my arm. It’s going to feel a little weird the first time you transport.” 

Amari nodded. She didn’t hesitate to interlock their arms. 

The action brought her side pressed up against him, and Dylan felt her hip bump against his, her shoulder press into his. Dylan pushed the button on the transporter, thinking of their destination. The feeling was like the floor falling out beneath your feet. But only for a second. Between one breath and the next, solid ground was beneath their feet again. 

They were no longer inside. It was late sunset, the sky navy blue with just a tiny hint of dark teal in the West. Stars glitter across the velvety sky. The moon rose, casting everything in a silver glow. A breeze blew in off a nearby lake, cold and smelling of fresh water. Tall, old trees surrounded them. All around them was the sense of isolation, which was more than just a sense. They were completely and utterly alone, far from civilization. 

Even after they arrived, Amari didn’t let go of Dylan’s arm. She blinked a few times and swayed as though dizzy. “Where are we?” The moonstone badge on her lapel was like a tiny glowing moon plucked from the sky. 

They were facing the lake, which Dylan had done on purpose. Now, Dylan turned his head to jerk his chin at the house that crouched between the trees. “The old Van Helsing lake house. It’s been in the family for ages, but I’m the only one who comes here anymore.” Dylan gently, regretfully, pulled his arm free of Amari’s. His confidence had been boosted a little by Amari’s willingness to lean on him for support. So maybe the foul magic was a little too much too soon. But she still trusted him. “Follow me!” He said, and dashed for the house. 

His feet found the path easily. It was one he's tread a hundred times before. 

Amari’s footsteps followed him, a little slower and more hesitant, but gaining momentum. She followed him through the first floor of the house, to a door at the back. 

When they reached the door, Dylan stopped and turned to her. He kept his hands behind his back, one hand on the doorknob. There were no lights on in the house so it was difficult to read Amari’s expression. “I may not be as strong an illusionist as you are, but it’s still my favorite kind of magic. Painting illusions is sort of my hobby.” _Sort of_ was an understatement. As much as Dylan liked being a technologist and liked tech magic, there was something that drew him to illusions. Now Dylan wondered if it was because of Amari, if even years before they met, his magic was telling him about his other half. 

Amari cocked her head. “Is that what you wanted to show me? One of your illusions?” There was no fear or disappointment in her voice now, only curiosity. 

Dylan was so relieved that he could only nod. The feeling he’d had when he revealed himself to Amari as a magician was back. A mix of nerves and hope and the feeling of being laid bare. He twisted the knob and pushed the door open. He stepped aside so that Amari could see the stairs descending to another door. “I’ve been working on this one for a couple months now. I thought maybe you could add to it if you wanted.” 

They went down the stairs together, to the second door. 

Softly, Amari said, “I don’t know if I’m good enough…” 

With all of his heart, Dylan believed that Amari was good enough. What she’s done so far, without guidance, was incredible. Her third time using a spell had almost blinded him. Amari overflowed with magic. Every drop of her blood was magic. She was more than good enough. She just needed more guidance. Someone to help her figure it all out. “Don’t worry. I’ll show you how.” 

They were at the bottom of the stairs. Dylan took a quiet breath before he opened the second door. Light spilled into the stairwell. 

Amari gasped. She put her hands over her mouth and stared, with wide-eyed awe at Dylan’s forest. Her eyes sparkled with unshed tears. 

Watching her, Dylan’s heart ached in the best way. “I’ve got almost the whole basement covered. C’mon, I’ll lead you through.” 

Amari nodded, eyes roaming over everything, drinking it all in. She followed him down a little winding path. 

The illusion that Dylan has been painting for the past few months was a glowing forest. Tall trees and bushes with leaves that shimmered blue, pink, and purple grew to hide the basement walls. The forest was stocked with animals, mostly of the smaller variety. Butterflies with ruby and gold wings that looked like real precious jewels, squirrels with glittery silver fur. The animals moved like real animals would but it was most noticeable with the squirrels, who spooked back into the trees when Dylan and Amari got too close. There were snakes that looked like tubes of neon lights hanging from branches and slithering along the floor, and fish that looked like they were made of real gold shining in a small, faintly glowing river. Somewhere in here was a feline with constellations in its black fur...but that one was hard to spot. A wind rustled the leaves on the trees, making a faint hissing noise. It even smelled like forest and animals. If Dylan wanted to, he could make it appear to be raining and have glistening raindrops gathering and sliding down every surface and animal. 

“You made all this?” Amari asked, awed. 

Dylan couldn’t resist looking back at her. He smiled when he saw that she still looked starstruck. “Pretty cool, huh?” 

“Really cool,” Amari breathed. 

Normally it only took a minute to cross from one side of the basement to the other, but Dylan walked slowly so that Amari could have her fill of the forest. It was twenty minutes later before they reached the place where the forest ended and the basement began. It was a dark little corner of stone. “This is as far as I’ve gotten. I thought this would be a great spot to put something of yours.” 

Amari shot Dylan a look of surprise. “Of mine? Is there a spell for forest-making or something?” 

Dylan laughed and shook his head. “The spellbook shows you how to create automatic illusions, but you can also paint them manually too.” He reached out slowly, and touched Amari’s shoulder. Barely touching the gray of her suit, Dylan drew a bird. It showed up glowing white, two-dimensional at first. Then, with just the slightest push of his magic, the bird hopped to life, chirping on Amari’s shoulder. It spread its white wings and flew into the forest to join the rest of the flock. 

“It even sounds like a real bird,” Amari noted, watching the bird fly through the trees. 

“Once you practice enough, there’ll be no sense you can’t fool. Your illusions can make sounds, have bad smells, or even feel real to the touch. I’ve never actually tried to taste one, but it seems like it would work.” 

“Can you show me how?” 

“The secret to make an illusion is to focus on an image in your head and imagine it pouring out of your fingers. Start off with something small and not alive.” Dylan pointed to his shirt. “Like a button on my shirt.” 

They settled down on the concrete floor and Amari got to work. It wasn’t exactly a fast process. It took a lot of concentration to manually paint illusions. Amari focused so hard that it looked like she was trying to glare a hole in Dylan’s shirt. But thirty minutes later, another button appeared on Dylan’s shirt. 

Dylan grinned. “Awesome!” So far, whenever their magic worked together it was mostly reflexive and reactive on Amari’s part. She’d just spent thirty minutes making a button but Dylan was itching to do magic together, on purpose. “Let’s do one together,” he coaxed. Between them, a small green sprout grew between the cracks in the concrete. “This reminds me of you.” 

“How come?” Amari asked, gazing down at the little sprout curiously. 

“Because you haven’t let where you come from or what you are make you give up. At least, not yet. You just keep fighting through it.” 

Amari ducked her head in embarrassment. She looked down at the sproutling, a sign of so much potential. It looked generic, like it could be any kind of plant imaginable. 

Dylan waited as patiently as he could. He went completely still, falling back into the stillness like a gargoyle at sunrise, like his father taught him. His magic kept urging, urging Amari’s magic to do something, to make it grow. _Make it grow…_

Suddenly, Amari reached out and twirled her fingers over the sprout. She raised her hand up. The sprout grew following the motion of Amari’s hand, stem glowing a pulsating green. A dark bud appeared at the top with a sound like ice cracking. Then the bud bloomed, and Dylan saw that it wasn’t a dark bud, but a bud made of glass petals. The petals fanned out with a tinkling noise, glass shifting against glass. The clear glass caught the colors of Dylan’s forest and reflected them back in a rainbow of sparkling neon. 

As the glass rose grew between them, Dylan felt his love for Amari grow and solidify between them too like a physical thing in his chest. Dylan’s breath caught. “That’s beautiful…” 

Amari looked surprised, looking between Dylan and her hand with wide eyes. “I don’t know how I just did that.” 

“Sometimes your magic will take over for you if you let it.” Though it was more likely to happen when the two of them were together. Dylan hummed, still staring at the rose. “How about we call it an Amari Blossom?” 

Amari smiled, expression soft and sweet. “I think I like that.” 

Dylan looked at her...and thought about kissing Amari again. Here, surrounded by magic, with their creation between them. It seemed like the perfect time. And the way Amari was looking at him, like she _liked_ him. He believed in symbolism. Amari didn’t _have_ make a flower; she could have made the sprout a tree or a vegetable or a bush or something else entirely. But she’d made a flower and flowers _always_ meant love. Did Amari feel the same way Dylan did? Did she love him like he loved her? Dylan leaned closer, closer to the blossom, closer to Amari. 

Suddenly, Amari looked panicked. “What time is it?” 

Dylan blinked. He glanced down at his watch. “Uh, ten-thirty?” They’d been there for a long, long time. Lara had better cover for him. 

Amari gasped. “Mom’s off work! She’s home right now! She’s gonna kill me if I walk in the door this late.” Amari gave Dylan a once over. “With a _boy_.” Amari practically threw her arms around Dylan’s neck. “We have to get back _now_!” 

“O-okay.” Dylan was so surprised that he fumbled with the transporter. But a second later, they were standing in Amari’s apartment. The lights were on and there were two adults in the apartment now. A white guy with a jacket that read DETECTIVE across the shoulders and a Black woman with her head down. 

Amari immediately shoved Dylan into the dark hallway. It was not a big hallway and for all that they were no longer alone, it felt private and intimate. “You have to go!” Amari hissed. She was so close that her chest pressed to his. 

“I will,” Dylan said softly, pitching his voice low enough that only Amari would hear it. “But am I going to have a partner on Monday?” His fingers lightly encircled her wrist. 

Amari’s brown eyes gazed up at him, uncertainty swimming in them. “I...I don’t know. But you _really_ have to go, okay?” This was said as firmly as when she said no foul magic. 

“I’m going,” Dylan promised. He looked into her eyes and hoped that this wouldn’t be the last time that he saw her. “But I do hope you come back.” Before anyone could catch them, Dylan pushed the button on his transporter and he was back in his bedroom at the Bureau. 

Lara laid in bed with a magazine. She gave Dylan an once-over. “God, you look drunk. Your face is so red.” 

“Shut up,” Dylan snapped. Now that Lara mentioned it, his face did feel warm. “You cover for me?” 

Lara nodded. “Daddy ordered me a new phone.” 

Dylan changed out of his trainee suit, stripping down to just his boxers. He felt too hot for pajamas. “We still going to the manor tomorrow?” 

“Yup,” Lara said, popping the _p_. She turned a page in her magazine. “I can’t wait to have my own room again.”


	5. Waste The Night

Mother woke Dylan and Lara at an obscenely early hour. “Are you packed? We want to get an early start.” 

Dylan forced himself to sit up, still mostly asleep. When mother left, Dylan fell out of bed and stumbled to the closet. He was so tired that he almost pulled on Lara’s blouse before realizing his mistake. 

“That’s mine,” Lara said, snatching it out of Dylan’s hands. She yawned hugely as she put her arms into the sleeves and fumbled with the buttons. One thing that the Van Helsing twins had in common was that they were not morning people. 

Dylan pulled his dress shirt off the hanger. It was spring green like Lara’s blouse and made his eyes look almost colorless. Next, he pulled on a pair of khaki slacks. He hated khaki. It was so ugly. “Can’t you do better than this?” he complained to the closet. The pants changed from khaki to a deep, emerald green. 

Lara’s skirt did the same. Even as tired as she was, Lara managed to roll her eyes. She picked up a pair of white tights and sat on her bed to pull them on. 

When Dylan opened the jewelry box, he was met with white triangle stud earrings and a tube of white eyeliner. “Really feeling the green and white today, huh?” Dylan mumbled. He put the earrings in, then plopped down on the vanity stool to do his eyeliner. By the time he was through, he looked less like a zombie and more awake. Apparently, the room knew what it was doing. He ran his hands through his hair a few times in an admittedly pathetic attempt to brush it. 

Lara got dangling triangle earrings and a triangle pendant to wear around her neck. She was encouraged to wear white eyeliner as well as her usual nude lipstick, and eyeshadow. The eyeshadow was green. “What is this? Saint Patrick’s Day?” 

“Apparently,” Dylan muttered. He wasn’t going to spend any more time with his parents than he needed to, so while Lara did her makeup, Dylan took the time to double check that he had packed for the weekend. 

Together, backpacks slung over their shoulders, they met their parents in the living room. Their parents wore green as well. Dylan hated it when the closets made their family _match_ as if they were a set. Despite wearing matching outfits, mother and father stood apart from each other with their suitcases by their feet. 

Father turned to them, his pale eyes cold, his face impassive. “Dylan, you’re coming with me for the weekend.” 

“Yes, sir,” Dylan said automatically. 

“Lara, you and I are touring the Heartland Crop Circle Art Festival,” mother said. She gave Lara and Dylan a wry smile. “I thought that it would be a good idea for the boys to have some alone time.” Which meant that she wanted to get Lara away from father to give him time to cool off about the broken phone. 

Lara went to stand beside their mother. “Sounds good.” She looped her arm through mother’s arm. 

Mother pushed the button on her transporter and the two disappeared. 

Dylan and his father were left staring at each other. Slowly, Dylan crossed the living room to stand beside his father. He’d barely put his hand on his father’s arm when he felt the floor drop out beneath him and then they were standing in the Van Helsing Manorhouse. 

Father pulled away from Dylan, expression distracted as he made for his office away from work. As the director of the Supernatural Investigations department, father had a lot of responsibility and he often had to work even when he was at home. 

Dylan went to his room and collapsed into bed without bothering to unpack. There was a lot to do tonight and he wasn’t sure when he would get the chance to sleep again. But before he could fall asleep, Dylan had an idea. He debated with himself for a few moments, wasting precious sleep time, but finally hauled himself out of bed and to his computer. Dylan logged onto the Othernet and opened up the Duboise website. 

Duboise was the most expensive brand in the entire Supernatural world. But if Amari was going to return to the Bureau to finish her training - and he was pretty sure tonight would convince her to come back - then Dylan wanted her to feel like she belonged there. And, maybe, he wanted to spoil Amari a little bit. She was his partner and partners did stuff like this for each other. It would have the bonus effect of getting Dylan even more securely into Amari’s good graces. So he made his purchase and had them delivered to the Van Helsing apartment at the Bureau of Supernatural Affairs. 

Dylan flashed a tired smile at his computer. Then he went to his bed and face planted on it. He fell asleep without taking off his shoes.   
  
  
  


It was late that night when Dylan woke up. He rolled onto his back and closed his eyes again. For a few seconds he was tempted to fall back into sleep. But there were things to be done and Dylan didn’t have time to waste. The plan was already set into motion. 

The Bureau of Supernatural Affairs was a hybrid of tech and magic, which was terribly ironic. As the Director of Supernatural Investigations, Director Van Helsing was offered equipment to take home on occasion. Equipment such as drones with video cameras and live streaming abilities. In fact, most of the department heads had them in their homes because they were rich and their children wanted to play with drones just like the Van Helsing children did. Dylan turned the drones on and flew them outside. He made them fly above the houses, where they had a birds eye view of the lawn. Because he was a technologist, Dylan could see everything that the drones could see. 

Which meant that he could see the hybrids sprinting across the lawn to the Van Helsing manor house; and so many other manor houses owned by legacy families. Most of the hybrids were great hulking beasts, a cross between elephants and humans. They crashed through the front doors and the windows without pause. 

Dylan felt the house shake, heard the shattering of glass echoed in the footage and in real life. Alarms began blaring. 

The second wave were made of smaller, tiger-human hybrids. They weren’t anywhere near as large as the elephant hybrids but they were, in a way, deadlier. Their claws were long and they were so agile that they might have been able to give Lara a run for her money if she was home. 

Dylan opened his eyes. He had to focus on all of the drones at once to make sure they were recording, but he also needed to leave the house. His vision was a kaleidoscope of a dozen different images. This wasn’t something he’d practiced before. It made him nauseous as his brain tried to process everything and his body tried to navigate him through the house to the exit. He stumbled into the hallway, broke a vase trying not to fall over. The world shifted and swooped as one of the drone cameras zoomed in. Dylan clutched the wall, dizzy with the motion. He sank his nails into the expensive wallpaper, trying to claw his way to stability as he attempted to continue walking. One of his nails broke on the crown molding. 

He was so dizzy… 

Dylan waited until he was sure that every single house had been broken into. He heard the echo of screams - human and hybrid - in rage and in fear, in triumph and in pain. The whole house shook around Dylan, even the floor vibrated with heavy steps as the elephant hybrids stormed the house. On the cameras, he watched as Billy Pogo’s house collapsed in the middle as a support beam was taken out. When he was sure that maximum impact had been recorded, Dylan stopped recording. 

With his magic, Dylan sent a call to every phone number listed in the Bureau’s database. The caller ID showed up on their phones as _Surprise._ Hundreds of voices rang in Dylan’s ears as people answered their phones. Even with the din, he picked out Amari’s “Hello?” Like she was expecting to hear from a friend. From him. 

The recording was something that Dylan had made weeks ago. He made it play now: “ENEMIES OF MAGICIANKIND, YOU WERE WARNED WHAT WOULD HAPPEN IF OUR DEMANDS WEREN’T MET. NOW SUFFER THE CONSEQUENCES.” It wasn’t his own voice saying the words, just a genderless robotic voice that couldn’t be traced to anyone or any program. Dylan ended the calls, cutting off the confused chatter of the people on the other line. 

He was panting, almost dripping in sweat. Stretching his magic so far all at once was tiring. He wiped the sweat from his eyes and sagged against the wall. The hybrids would be coming for him soon. Dylan wasn’t good at blood magic. Not like Maria was. He’d been warned by the other apprentices that if Dylan got in the way, he might be hurt before the hybrids recognized they weren’t supposed to attack him. Stupid, weak magicians who couldn’t even handle their own magic. 

Dylan wasn’t done yet. He sent the recordings compressed into one video file to all of the phones he just called. So that they could see exactly what the consequences were when you persecuted magicians. There. Done. 

Dylan wasn’t sure if the house was shaking more violently or if it was he himself who trembled with exhaustion. He lifted his head. 

A tiger hybrid raked its claws across Dylan’s face. Too late, it recognized him and tried to pull back. The claws still split Dylan’s skin open like fine paper. 

Dylan howled in pain. His face felt like it was on fire. Blood welled up and then ran hot down his neck. Dylan clutched his face. He had the absurd thought that the Bureau closet wasn’t going to be happy with him for staining his green outfit. 

The tiger hybrid raced past Dylan, raking its bloody claws down the wallpaper as it went. 

Father came sprinting down the hallway, a Stun Stick in one hand. “Dylan!” The look of rage on his face was terrifying...until Dylan realized it wasn’t aimed at _him._ Father slung an arm around Dylan and touched the button on his transporter. 

Dylan slumped against his father as it felt like the ground fell away beneath his feet.   
  
  
  


_Amari_Peters: I just got a weird video showing your house being attacked. Are you ok?_   
  
  
  


The text came in while the Healers were singing Dylan’s face back to normal. Amari’s concern made Dylan smile. Once the Healers got to him, they fixed the immense dizziness and gave him some juice to put a pep in his step. 

Except it didn’t _really_ put a pep in Dylan’s step because once his face was healed and the world was no longer fractured into a dozen viewpoints, Dylan promptly passed out.   
  
  
  


Dylan woke up where he passed out in the Department of Supernatural Health. He begged a cell phone off a Junior Agent and used it to call Amari, tricking the phone into thinking it belonged to Dylan so that the caller ID showed up under his name. 

Amari answered on the first ring, saw the bruises still on Dylan’s face, and scrunched up her nose in distaste. 

Dylan laughed, just relieved to see her again. “You should’ve seen me before the Healers.” 

The look of distaste smoothed into concern. Her eyes darted all around, searching his face. “But you’re all right? Is your family okay?” 

Dylan gave a slow nod. “Well, Mom and Lara were touring this year’s Heartland Crop Circle Art Festival, so it was just me and Dad there when the hybrids stormed in. I tried to fight them off as I ran to find him, but one of them clawed me pretty good. We barely made it out of there.” 

Amari let out a sigh of relief. “Thank goodness. I wasn’t sure what to think when I got that strange phone call and video.” Anxiety lines appeared on her face, concern showing in her brown eyes. 

The last traces of humor vanished from Dylan’s expression. He could work with what she gave him, what she wanted from him. Even if every word felt like a dirt clot in his throat. “I just keep thinking what if everyone was home for the weekend like usual. Would we all have made it out? Lara’s room is on that side of the house. Moreau’s people went after my family, Amari. Again.” 

“I know. It’s awful,” Amari said compassionately. She really cared. Father and Lara would rather Amari be dead and here she was _still caring_ about what happened to them. Was this just who Amari was or did she care about Dylan’s family because they were an extension of him? 

“Dad says the attacks were against old legacy families. Our house wasn’t even the worst hit. A lot of people got hurt. Some didn’t make it.” Too many did; but Dylan didn’t say that aloud. “Billy Pogo’s Unnatural Luck saved him, but he lost both his parents. He’s not coming back to the Bureau this summer.” 

Amari shuddered. 

Dylan came to the conclusion that she was a bleeding heart. Then again, Billy didn’t antagonize Amari like Lara did. Or maybe she just didn’t want to be in Billy Pogo’s place. Dylan locked eyes with Amari through the video screen. “I want to be the one to stop them. Promise you’ll help me make Junior Agent. You know we make a great team.” He offered what he hoped was an encouraging smile. 

Amari lifted her chin. “I’ve already decided to go back. Because I plan to be the one to bring Quinton and Maria home.” She said this in such a way that there was no debate. Amari _would_ be the one to bring VanQuish home. 

Despite what bringing VanQuish home would mean for Dylan, he couldn’t help but admire Amari. He grinned. “Are we going to be VanQuish 2.0? We made a pretty good team the other day.” 

Amari nodded, offering up her own little smile. “From now on we share whatever we find.” 

They really would make a _great_ team. 

“Deal,” Dylan said firmly. 

The Junior Agent whose phone he was borrowing came back into the room. 

“I’ve gotta go,” Dylan said reluctantly. “I’ll see you Monday, partner.” 

“Monday,” Amari echoed. She hung up. 

Dylan gave the cell phone back to the Junior Agent, erasing Amari’s number from the phone’s records. 

“You should change,” the Junior Agent suggested. 

Dylan looked down. There was still blood staining his clothes. He didn’t even think about that. At least it hadn’t been in frame so Amari didn’t see it. “Can I go?” 

“Yup. You’re officially discharged.”   
  
  
  


When mother and Lara returned from their trip, Lara went straight for father and mother went straight to Dylan. She wrapped him in her arms and hugged him tight. Then she pushed him away to look at his face. “They couldn’t heal that last little bruise?” she asked, frowning. 

“Other people needed the Healers more. Some of them got seriously hurt,” Dylan replied. 

Father cut into their conversation. He had an arm wrapped around Lara’s shoulders. “Don’t downplay what happened, Dylan. It was a serious attack and you were seriously hurt. If the Healers hadn’t taken the time to heal your face, you and Lara wouldn’t be identical twins anymore.” 

Dylan wondered what father thought they were going to be when Lara grew breasts. But he didn’t mention the physical differences in their bodies. He only nodded. “A tiger hybrid got me,” he told mom. “Right across the face.” He traced the phantom pain more from memory than because he still felt it. 

Mother hugged Dylan again. “I’m glad you’re safe.” She left Dylan and went to kiss father. “Both of you.”   
  
  
  


Though Dylan had never known Amari to go back on her word, he was worried that something might have happened between the last time they spoke and now to prevent Amari from returning to the Bureau. The idea that she might leave forever made him sick to his stomach. He couldn’t even eat breakfast. Dylan got dressed and left the apartment. 

Amari stood beside the elevators, an anxious expression on her face, moving her head around like she was searching for someone. When she spotted Dylan, she ran to him. 

Dylan’s eyes went wide. “Amari? What’s up?” 

“Can’t talk here. Come with me to the library,” Amari said and grabbed Dylan’s wrist to pull him to the elevators. 

“Okay…” Dylan let himself be dragged, feeling so light and high that he was practically swooning. Belatedly, he asked, “Should I be worried?” 

“Just come on. It’s important.” When they got into the elevator, Amari let go of Dylan’s wrist. The elevator was Whispers, who shouted the name of every floor they passed. It was a relief to get to the library. Amari took the lead, almost running into an empty study room. 

Dylan followed, worried and excited in equal measure. Whatever she was going to tell him must be important. “What’s going on?” Dylan asked after they were closed into the small room and sitting at a table. 

Amari turned to face him. She took a deep breath. “I was casting constellations with Director Horus last night and I asked him about that meeting we found on Quinton’s computer,” she said all in a rush. 

Dylan leaned across the table. “And what did he say?” 

Amari told him that Quinton was looking into Maria’s future because he questioned her loyalty. Of course he was...Dylan didn’t realize that Quinton was actually looking into it though. He thought that Maria would have covered for him. “But why…” 

“You said it yourself - they weren’t getting along anymore. They were splitting up! What if Quinton realized she was keeping secrets from him?” Amari met Dylan’s eyes, looking grim. “Maria is a magician. What if she accepted Moreau’s offer to join them?” 

She thought _Maria_ was Moreau’s apprentice? _MARIA?!_ Dylan was so offended that he couldn’t even hide it. “You think my sister is a traitor?” 

A flicker of doubt crossed Amari’s face. “I don’t know,” she admitted. “But there had to be a reason for my brother to go behind her back like that.” 

Dylan stood up. “I’m outta here.” 

“Wait! That’s not all. Director Horus knows you’re a magician.” 

Dylan stopped breathing. He could swear that his heart stopped beating for a few precious seconds. His spine had never been straighter. Dylan stared straight ahead as he asked, voice tight, “He does? How?” This was going to ruin everything. 

Amari’s eyes went wide. “I shouldn’t have said it like that. I just meant that he knows there’s a magician who wants to protect me.” The tips of her ears turned red again. “The constellation showed a two-headed snake baring its fangs at me. But there was another snake by my side. He said that snakes are supposed to represent magicians.” 

A two-headed snake...that meant that a magician was going to take another magician’s powers. Could it be that _Dylan_ was meant to take the magic of another magician? Was he supposed to take _Moreau’s_ powers? The idea had crossed Dylan’s mind before, but he didn’t think he was strong enough. If Amari’s future showed a two-headed snake though… He suddenly realized that he went too long without replying. He blinked, refocused on Amari. “Of course I’d have your back. That’s what partners do.” This changed everything. Dylan was going to take Moreau’s magic. He was going to be the one to lead magicians out of the shadows. Belatedly, Dylan added, “That’s why it doesn’t make sense for Quinton to think my sister would ever… Let me prove it, okay? You keep looking into what Quinton was up to, and I’ll show you my sister isn’t a traitor.” 

“Okay.” 

Dylan turned to leave, then stopped. “Did Director Horus get suspicious about there being another magician on your side?” 

“Well, he asked me about it, but I just told him I didn’t know.” Amari’s brown eyes were warm and caring when she looked across the table at Dylan. 

Dylan felt his shoulders drop as the tension left them. “You kept my secret?” 

Amari offered a small smile. “You should tell people when you’re ready.” 

Dylan felt his face go warm. He was pleased. More than pleased, really. Amari didn’t give him away at all, she told him that he would take Moreau’s magic, and she said that she trusted Dylan to protect her. He won’t let her down. “Thanks,” Dylan said sincerely. “I’m gonna see if I can get some breakfast before training starts.” 

They parted ways, Dylan going back up to the directors apartments. While he was in the elevator, Dylan got an email telling him that his package had been delivered. He smiled. Today really was the best day. It was worth all of yesterday’s trouble. The box had been delivered straight to Dylan’s bedroom. He opened the box just to peek at them in person and grinned. Amari was going to love these.   
  
  
  


Dylan didn’t get a chance to give Amari her gift until the trainees were getting their Sky Sprints out of the equipment room. “Amari!” He waved her over and clutched the gym bag that held his own Sky Sprints. 

Amari crossed the room to him. “Yeah?” 

“I, uh, picked up something during the weekend break.” He reached inside and pulled out the Duboise box. It was black with a silver logo. “Didn’t have a chance to give it to you before so…” Dylan lifted the top off the box so that Amari could see them. They were white boots with a ghostly shimmer. The tag read _Dead but Dazzling Collection._

Amari’s eyes went wide with surprise. “These are for me?” She shook her head but she was smiling. “Thank you.” 

Dylan’s heart skipped a beat. His face flushed red. “I mean, uh, you won’t get far in those dusty old Sky Sprints you were using before. And if you fail, so do I.” 

Some of Amari’s happiness muted, as though Dylan just put a shade on her light. “Right. That makes sense.” She took the Sky Sprints and tried them on. If Amari’s smile was any indication, the Sky Sprints were a perfect fit.   
  
  
  


Dylan knew that Amari would expect him to be angry about her accusing Maria of being Moreau’s apprentice. In a way, he was angry about it. But not for the reason that Amari thought. So Dylan kept his distance. It killed him to spend so much time away from Amari. 

He could feel that she was using her magic more and more, and felt the tingling in his blood whenever she cast a spell. That made it harder than ever to stay away from Amari. Dylan hated having to pretend to be angry at Amari...especially since it meant he was spending more time with Lara. 

Every time Lara caught Dylan looking in Amari’s direction she scoffed. “You’re better off with me,” she said. Even though the Van Helsing twins never got along, Lara seemed determined to make Dylan her partner. It might have had something to do with getting the thirty-second head start for the next tryout. 

As the days passed, Dylan got tired of avoiding Amari but he couldn’t see a way to approach her. 

He and Lara went to an impromptu agent trainee meeting held in one of the dormitories. It didn’t escape Dylan’s notice that everyone was there except for Amari. He made himself a wallflower and listened to the gossip spreading. When the meeting broke up, Dylan went to find Amari. This was important news, and it would give him an excuse to talk to Amari again and break the ice between them. 

Dylan found Amari in the cafeteria. She was eating lunch with the weredragon, Elsie. They were having an animated discussion when Dylan walked up. “Hey, Amari, you got a sec?” 

Amari and Elsie both looked up. “Um, sure,” Amari said. She stood up. 

Dylan led her to an empty table. He sat down across from her, uncomfortably aware of how this mirrored their conversation in the library. “So...I have a friend, who heard it from another friend, whose brother is a Junior Agent, who walked in on Agent Fiona telling my dad about the second tryout being a treasure hunt - _inside_ the Bureau. He said Agent Fiona made it clear that the only way to pass is to have a really good understanding of the Bureau.” 

“Are you sure it was real? Because Lara seemed pretty certain she knew what the first tryout would be too.” 

“That was just my sister wanting to be the center of attention. This is legit,” Dylan assured her. 

Amari bit her lip, casting her gaze around the cafeteria. After a while she asked, “How many people know about this?” 

Dylan winced. “All the agent trainees. But you weren’t there so I went to find you.” 

A look of understanding crossed Amari’s face. She read between his lines. “Thanks for telling me.” She glanced at the table where Lara and the other legacy trainees were eating together. “But I bet all the copies of _Ins and Outs and In-Betweens of the Bureau_ are checked out by now.” 

Now this was something Dylan could fix. He grinned. “No worries. I have my own. We can study together.” His face warmed at the thought of spending more time with her. Dylan missed Amari. 

Surprise flickered across Amari’s face. “Oh. That would be cool.” She gave him a tentative smile. 

Right. Dylan needed to be more careful. Amari was his partner and he kept playing games with her. It made him embarrassed. And he longed for the day when there were no more secrets and they could just be together. “I’ve been thinking and...I know you only said what you said about Maria because that’s where the investigation led you. If the situation were reversed, I’d have done the same. Just please keep an open mind, okay? Let’s treat my sister like she’s innocent until we know for sure.” 

Amari nodded agreement. “I can do that.” 

Dylan smiled. “VanQuish 2.0?” He held out his fist. 

Amari returned his smile and bumped his fist. “VanQuish 2.0.”

**Author's Note:**

> I've got a [Supernatural Investigations blog](https://magiciangirl18.tumblr.com/) if ya'll wanna come see me ramble into the void (username is magiciangirl18). And I made an [SI discord](https://discord.gg/cpweEwhn) if anyone wants to come and talk about the book. 
> 
> Chapter titles are from the song [Roses by the Chainsmokers.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mBZdHuZCfic)
> 
> Thanks for reading!


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